How to Complement Mobile Application Pentesting to Maintain Compliance

Governments and industries have set up regulations and requirements to protect consumers’ and application data from increasing malicious attacks. Some, like GDPR, have been around for years, while others, like the Cyber Resilience Act, have gone into effect as recently as last year.

Security analysts create detailed requirements based on regulations, including best practice recommendations from organizations like OWASP. These requirements are then passed to development teams, who must ensure compliance while building secure mobile apps. At the same time, development teams face mounting pressure to deliver timely releases in an ever-evolving threat landscape. To address the need for security, compliance, and speed, many teams are adopting a “shift-left” approach, integrating security testing earlier into the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

However, they must still comply with regulatory requirements. This is why mobile application penetration testing plays a crucial role. In short, a penetration test, or pentest, simulates a real-world attack on your mobile app. It is usually performed by a security researcher that will conduct a review of your app and employ sophisticated attacks to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in your mobile application. Many regulatory bodies will require a pentest to maintain compliance, but it is a general rule to conduct pentesting on an annual or semi-annual basis, or prior to a significant release.

So, we know pentesting mobile apps helps identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors. But where does pentesting fall short? What doesn’t it cover? We’ll discuss that and more, like how to achieve compliance using a combination of pentesting, mobile application security testing, and monitoring.

What is pentesting for mobile apps?

Mobile app pentesting is a testing method to identify security vulnerabilities in mobile applications that could potentially be exploited by threat actors. When threat actors exploit these vulnerabilities, they’re able to access sensitive data or tamper with an application. After gaining access, these malicious actors can use the data to accomplish their nefarious intentions. The goal of pentesting is to identify, analyze, and fix these weaknesses or vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious actors.

Some common vulnerabilities that a pentest may check are improper credential usage, insecure communication, and inadequate privacy controls. The OWASP Top 10 Mobile Risks for 2024 is a great starting point to begin understanding the vulnerabilities you should be seeking to uncover during your pentests. The exact scope of your pentest should be based on establishing a clear definition of the kind of risks you are looking to mitigate.

Why conduct pentesting?

Not all mobile apps require pentesting, but many should strongly consider it. Especially those in well-regulated industries. Apps that handle financial or sensitive personal data - such as mobile health apps, financial services, insurance apps, and retail apps that process payments - are prime candidates. The industries these apps fall under often will have their own standards and regulations, which may require security protections for the app such as anti-tampering and obfuscation requirements.

But, they’re not the only ones that should embrace pentesting. Similar to regulations, some apps may need to achieve certain certifications to compete in the market. Payment acquisition applications are a great example. Certain industry groups like PCI or EMVCo require developers of these apps to undergo a security evaluation with compliance requirements in order to go to market.

Another common driver for mobile app pentesting is cyber insurance requirements. The rise of cyber attacks has spurred the adoption of cyber insurance protection. In order to obtain their cyber insurance, these firms require app developers to conduct pentesting to identify security vulnerabilities and risks.

Which brings us to our last common driver of pentesting: identifying risks and security vulnerabilities, including a privacy and security evaluation of an app. We’ll discuss this driver in greater detail later on, but one of the main benefits of pentesting is staying ahead of cyber threats. Preemptive testing can identify potential risks and vulnerabilities prior to release, preventing monetary losses, damaged brand reputation, regulatory fines, and development setbacks.

Pentesting costs & scope

After identifying the drivers, the next step is to begin the pentesting process. The first step is examining the ways and means of how to go about your pentest. You can go with a pentesting service, which is quite common but can get expensive quickly, since these testing efforts involve manual effort, writing reports and are done on a periodic basis. Average estimates range from $5,000 to $15,000 per pen test, with some tests surpassing $30,000.

You can also go with a Do It Yourself approach by bringing your pentests in-house, but this should be reserved for those with past experience or extensive resources. Even with past experience, the DIY cost savings may not cover the time and effort to build then carry out pentests compared to a reputable pentesting service.

For instance, if you do not have an internal pentesting team, you’ll have to hire an experienced security researcher. The security researcher will also need an extensive tool suite to conduct proper analysis, further increasing costs. While over time you may come out ahead, the length of time to achieve these savings may be impractical, especially when working within a short timeframe.

As price depends on several factors, so does the level of pentesting your app may require. The complexity of your app is a major cost driver. A simpler app with only a few functions is much easier to test than an intricate app that has many integrations and connects with other systems.

Other cost drivers include the depth of the analysis done by the pentesters and their expertise. In-depth tests will mimic real-world attack scenarios of malicious actors trying to break your application. Meanwhile, a test that does a few quick checks is much easier to build, and, therefore, less expensive, but is also much less thorough.

Finally, this all comes to the level of expertise of the pentester. While more costly, a reputable pentesting firm will have experience with many different scenarios and varying levels of complexity. If your app requires a complicated test, these high-expertise firms are your best bet.

What are the goals of pentesting?

Pentesting seeks to pinpoint vulnerabilities within mobile apps prior to release. But there are other goals developers seek by pentesting their apps. For one, it is a great way to stay one step ahead of cyber threats. Conducting a pen test also helps assess the damage that could occur from a potential breach. Just as pentesting can identify potential threats, it also tells teams where high-risk areas exist so they can bolster their mobile app’s defenses.

Finally, one of the most common goals for pentesting is to achieve compliance for your mobile app. In short, teams will engage specialized pentesting firms who are trained and approved to perform compliance or certification efforts on behalf of industry or regulatory bodies. There are many regulatory bodies with specific requirements for apps within their jurisdiction. We mentioned some above (EMVco, PCI). These bodies will often have vulnerability assessment and penetration testing as a requirement listed in their compliance regulatory framework, with certification typically only performed by approved labs.

Pentesting methodology

The methodology of pentesting can be broken down into a four step process: reconnaissance, analysis and evaluation, exploitation, and reporting.

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance, or discovery, is the base for the entire pentesting process. This can be thought of as intelligence gathering. Typically the pen tester will decompile your mobile application binary to the original source code to perform static analysis. By using various tools and techniques, they can pinpoint vulnerabilities like insecure coding practices or hardcoded credentials in-app. They’ll also check to see if data is properly encrypted and stored to avoid data leaks.

Analysis & evaluation

The next step is to begin assessing the application before and after installation on to the device. The pentesting firm will review interactions with your mobile app. This includes communication with backend servers as well as sending and receiving data through HTTP requests. Their analysis will be more in-depth at this stage, examining how your app handles data in transit or interacts with other apps on the mobile device.

Exploitation

Next, the pentesting service will move from reviewing mobile app interactions to testing app interactions. Using the vulnerabilities that have been identified, the pentesters will simulate further real-world attacks on the application. Attacks like injecting malicious payloads using rooting or shell exploits are performed on the application. Other parts of the app that may be tested are authentication flaws, any cloud misconfigurations, or issues with access control. The response of the app and its behavior will inform the pentester how the mobile app handles these types of attacks.

Reporting

After a pen test, security experts will prepare a pen test report. The report will document any vulnerabilities identified during the test and provide recommendations for next steps. This is an opportunity to identify where the app needs improvements and close security gaps. Without doing so, it is unlikely the app will achieve the necessary compliance requirements. A good quality pentest report will not just demonstrate that a vulnerability exists, but will also explain the consequences and why it is relevant to your app or business.

Benefits of pentesting

As you’ve probably guessed by now, there are many benefits to pentesting, one of which is achieving compliance requirements. With pentesting, weaknesses in your mobile app security can be identified and made secure before a malicious actor has a chance to exploit it. Developers and security teams alike are able to optimize security systems. This is critical as not only new regulations come into law, but also helps fight the constantly evolving digital threat landscape.

Optimized security

Carrying out regular pentests helps organizations stay one step ahead of threats and bad actors. Pentesting on a regular basis makes it easier to pinpoint weaknesses and vulnerabilities in an evolving threat landscape.

Fix security weaknesses & vulnerabilities

Identifying weak points and vulnerable areas of your app is one thing. A pentest report will deliver additional context and details so you can prioritize fixing these areas of your app first. Strengthening these areas will boost mobile app security and optimize your apps defenses.

Prep for security audits

Finally, many of the regulations we have mentioned require a security audit by law. You can think of this as the “big exam”. The healthcare and finance industries are two of the primary industries that will require a security audit. Failing an audit can come with negative ramifications, such as non-compliance fines. Pen tests not only prepare for the audit, but helps orgs know where potential failure may occur so they can avoid any fines.

You can see the benefits to pentesting are apparent. But what about the app security pentesting doesn’t cover? And what should you do when a pen test fails?

Where pentesting falls short

Pentesting offers significant benefits, but it has limitations. A primary challenge is its reliance on seasoned security experts to conduct tests and analyze results. Unfortunately, not all organizations have access to such resources, and hiring a third party can be costly. The costs of pentesting can rise quickly over time due to reliance on external teams and resources. It may also drag out tests as scheduling and coordination difficulties may arise. Add in new test iterations and review cycles, and we can clearly see the exposure to costly delays. This raises a key question: how can organizations meet compliance goals without relying solely on expensive, expert-driven testing? The answer lies in adopting low-barrier security protocols across development teams.

For many development teams, security expertise isn’t readily available. Mobile app development is prioritized above all else, which can lead to security protocols being overlooked until critical moments- like an audit or release- trigger a last-minute scramble for compliance.

Rather than focusing on a specific event at a moment in time, adding multiple layers of protection throughout your app’s code and testing each layer as you build is preferable. Mobile app security testing, or MAST, is an example of continuous testing. It involves a series of automated techniques and tools to assist development teams in their quest to discover broad, scalable security vulnerabilities. When paired with pentesting, this approach creates a comprehensive and balanced mobile app security strategy, addressing both broad vulnerabilities and specific threats.

A comprehensive approach to mobile app security

Pentesting and having dedicated security experts are invaluable, but coupled with a MAST tool can elevate the security expertise of the entire development team. With MAST, developers gain actionable metrics to evaluate their mobile apps independently, reducing overreliance on security experts. This shift makes it much easier to identify and fix potential security risks, creating a proactive approach, rather than reacting to security issues after they occur.

MAST can also integrate into your development workflow. Many MAST tools have integrations with Github and similar platforms. Developers can integrate security protocols across their development lifecycle, which makes it easier to achieve compliance and not be blindsided by the results of failed pentest or audit. It is also very easy to get started, with plenty of external resources readily available. The OWASP MAS, which has openly shared security standards, is a fantastic place to begin when looking for guidance.

While pentesting simulates real-world attacks, it typically occurs infrequently - maybe once per year. In contrast, MAST offers continuous testing, identifies vulnerabilities before each release, integrates directly into the development lifecycle and attempts to catch issues prior to release. A best practice is to conduct annual pentesting and implement MAST before each release of your app.

Pentesting for optimized mobile app security

Pentesting mobile apps is a necessary and important part of mobile app security. For apps in industries like healthcare and financial services, it is an essential part of obtaining compliance from regulatory bodies. For others, it is a fantastic way to identify and fix security risks in your apps and systems before bad actors have a chance to exploit them.

But, as stated above, pentesting may not be accessible to everyone. A pen test report also gives the status of your mobile app at a particular point in time, rather than providing real-time security vulnerabilities that can be achieved via automated testing or threat monitoring. To achieve a broader, more scalable approach, pentesting is best when paired with these tactics. Learn more about developer-focused tools like Guardsquare’s AppSweep, a free mobile testing solution that can be integrated into your development lifecycle.