Top 9 Mobile App Security Scanners in 2024
Mobile application security scanners have gained worldwide acceptance due to the increase in security issues of mobile apps. Vulnerabilities are continuously increasing in the digital world and affecting businesses badly.
Some common security issues with mobile apps are insecure data storage and network communication, inadequate authentication and authorization for data breaches, insecure coding practices, improper session management, and risky third-party libraries. These vulnerabilities are crucial to identify at early stages to minimize damages and ensure corporate data privacy.
This article will discuss the best mobile app security scanners with their main features and the points to consider while choosing the scanner.
1. What is a Mobile App Security Scanner and How Does It Work?
Mobile app security scanner is an advanced tool that automates identifying security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in mobile applications.
The scanner works to diagnose and identify security flaws that unauthorized users can exploit. It is referred to as the most appropriate method for application developers and regulatory maintenance authorities to point out issues at any stage of the software development life cycle to ensure data integrity and compliance. It also helps businesses keep their privacy and confidentiality at peak levels.
Working with these scanners is straightforward. They work by analyzing the source code of mobile applications before they are deployed using static application testing tools.
The scanners scan the code and identify some practices of known vulnerabilities in the code so developers can remove or alter them. These scanners also perform dynamic analysis during runtime and binary code analysis.
Network security investigations by security scanners identify network issues in the app, and API security assessments are also performed to verify the credibility of external APIs used in the application.
2. Top 10 Mobile App Security Scanners
You must consider the following factors of app security scanners while choosing the one for you:
- Vulnerability detection capabilities
Every scanner possesses unique abilities to detect issues and weaknesses in the application. You need to select a scanner with at least the common threat detection ability, like insecure data storage, network issues, and improper authentications. Only a comprehensive scanner can address maximum vulnerabilities in the application. - Integration with development tools
Choose a security scanner that can integrate with your existing tools and working mechanisms to ensure high-end security and smooth continuity of work. Usually, integration with IDEs, CI/CD, and other tools is considered appropriate. - Supported platforms
You must check the platforms the scanner supports before selecting it because different scanners have different compatibilities with various OS. Some scanners support Android mobile app security testing, while some support Apple app scanning. - Customization
The scanner you choose must be flexible and allow developers to scan the apps from different angles. The scanner should be able to configure scan parameters and adjust the intent level or prioritize the risks. - Cost and Compliance
Check the pricing of scanners to choose according to your budget and check if it complies with regular security standards.
1App-Ray
App-Ray is an incredible security scanner to ensure security and compliance with deep analysis of mobile applications. It identifies known and unknown vulnerabilities in an application and does not require source code to perform app analysis.
App-Ray is configured with DevOps integration and other latest security features for efficient security management. App-Ray ensures availability on-premises and in the cloud. App-Ray enables Static and dynamic security testing to diagnose eighty-plus vulnerabilities in the application. It is Android app vulnerability scanner online also available for iOS mobile applications.
Key Features
- It allows automated analysis to ensure the app complies with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and PSD-2 regulations. Automated analysis also prevents data leakage and ensures that the code is secure from vulnerabilities.
- App-Ray scanner identifies insecure databases due to SQL injection issues.
- It diagnoses network communication issues due to improper SSL and TSL settings.
- Developers can also analyze data flow and network traffic to prevent unauthorized data access.
2Checkmarx One
CHeckmarx One is a comprehensive AppSec platform that helps to ensure data security at every development phase. It provides smooth development and deployment of apps in your business network without adding security risks and vulnerabilities. Its advanced technology and features help to identify vulnerabilities faster than other scanning tools.
Key Features
- The Fusion engine of Checkmarx One identifies vulnerabilities by prioritizing them with risks and clarifies which are exploitable in your open-source code.
- It automates the analysis of APIs using test shadow and DAST features.
- Checkmarx automatically logs the vulnerabilities as bug tickets in feedback tools to maintain security.
- It enables developers to perform SAST, DAST, SCA, Supply Chain Security (SCS), container security, and infrastructure as code security checks.
3Data Theorem
Data Theorem is a security vulnerability scanner developed by Mobile Secure to prevent AppSec data breaches. It is compatible with Android and iOS devices and identifies third-party vulnerabilities concerned with app network communication, storage, and APIs. It enables developers to monitor mobile apps to ensure security continuously. Data Theorem provides static and runtime analysis of apps to prevent unauthorized activities.
Key Features
- Data theorem provides an active defense to ensure real-time protection and observance of security vulnerabilities to avoid them.
- It automates SAST, DAST, IAST, and SCA analysis to secure the app from development to deployment.
- It allows you to discover and protect all the APIs and provides end-to-end mobile app security for developers and businesses.
4Astra Pentest
Astra Pentest is a security scanner tool that combines mobile app testing, including SAST, DAST, and manual scanning. It supports both Android and iOS devices for security scanning. Astra Pentest provides safety confirmation for the architecture and design of the app, network communication and data processing, data storage and privacy, authentication, and session management.
Key Features
- It provides personalized reports and proof of concept videos to patch vulnerabilities swiftly.
- You can integrate Astra Pentest with CI/CD tools to manage DevSecOps situations.
- It performs over eight thousand tests to identify known vulnerabilities and misconfiguration errors in the mobile application code.
5Mobile Security Framework
Mobile Security Framework, also known as MobSF, is an automated and all-in-one solution to identify and prevent security attacks from various mediums. It is compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows devices to ensure safe app usage on these devices. You can use it for app testing, reverse engineering, and analysis. It is a free mobile app vulnerability scanner with an open-source framework.
Key Features
- It allows developers to scan vulnerabilities in mobile apps like insecure cryptography automatically.
- It also helps perform source code, binary and configuration analysis, and runtime testing.
- You can seamlessly integrate it with continuous integration/continuous delivery pipeline.
6NowSecure
NowSecure is a security vulnerability detection tool that conducts over six hundred tests from a single dashboard. It enables developers and security teams to continuously monitor app activities and clean up your source code using advanced testing tools. It supports testing for Android and iOS applications to identify app privacy threats.
Key Features
- It can find known and unknown vulnerabilities and also support pen tests.
- It ensures compliance with general regulations like NIST, OWASP, FISMA, NIAP, and GDPR.
- NowSecure is widely adapted to integrate testing into CI/CD, automatically generate tickets, and perform effective penetration testing.
7AppKnox
AppKnox is famous for analyzing about 140 plus automated tests to ensure mobile app security, including SAST, DAST, and API VA scans. It helps deploy fully secure apps by providing faster analysis reports with appropriate security checks. You can perform different scans on AppKnox with just a single click on the dashboard. It fulfills more than seven compliance standards and eight integrations.
Key Features
- You can check mobile app vulnerabilities within sixty minutes.
- It provides a step-by-step analysis of the app with penetration testing, including detailed reports.
- You can perform server-side testing with AppKnox to run your apps safely on official devices.
8Codified Security
It is one of the most convenient ways to perform app analysis. It just requires uploading the app code and then automating the scanning to highlight vulnerabilities in the mobile app. Codified offers customization of app security levels and specific engine rules to get more personalized with exact app testing mechanisms.
Key Features
- Security reports by Codified Scanner highlight vulnerabilities in detail to understand and resolve them professionally.
- It supports IPA and APK uploads of files with the app source code to perform various tests efficiently.
- Codified also supports Jawa, Swift, and Object C applications and integrates with Phonegap and Hockey apps.
9Dexcalibur
Dexacalibur is a resilient and stable tool for identifying and ensuring app security. It has the power to establish correlations with different analysis tools to ensure effective vulnerability detection results. It combines static, dynamic, and symbolic analysis to deliver customized analysis reports for app security.
Key Features
- With file system monitoring, it draws a timeline with a comprehensive view of app security measures.
- It helps to monitor network communication protocols at the application layer without modification of app settings.
3. Top 5 Mobile App Vulnerabilities You Must Know
App security scanners are essential for identifying and addressing these vulnerabilities to enhance the overall security of mobile applications:
- Insecure Data Storage
Unsafe data storage means not keeping information safe enough. User data like passwords and personal information can be unsafe without being encrypted or secured. Lack of adequate data protection can lead to unauthorized access. - Insecure Communication
The mobile app and outside servers don't have safe data transfer mechanisms. Hackers can easily steal sensitive information if we don't protect messages with encryption. We must use HTTPS to lower this risk. - Code Tampering
It includes the process of unauthorized alterations to the codebase by hackers to add malicious code or manipulate security measures. Code tampering allows hackers to compromise the integrity of an app, so you need code obfuscation to avoid it. - Lack of Binary Protections
The binary code of mobile applications needs high security to avoid vulnerabilities. If it is not adequately secured, hackers can easily detect and manipulate it using reverse engineering techniques. It can lead to severe damage by getting unauthorized access, and the data can be misused against the company, causing reputational or financial damage. Anti-tampering measures and obfuscation are necessary to avoid such mishaps and security vulnerabilities. - Improper Session Handling
Mobile apps that fail to safeguard user sessions have poor session management. Improper session handling leads to unauthorized access or account misuse. Secure authentication and authorization procedures are needed for efficient session management to limit authorized users' access to application features and data.
Conclusive Note
It is necessary to check mobile application security before installing them on corporate devices because they might contain vulnerabilities and security flaws that can provide unauthorized access to device data. Verifying an app's security only by checking its reviews is inappropriate. Enterprises are more concerned about their customer's privacy and official statements and documentation. So, they need to incorporate professional ways like scanning the applications at various development stages to ensure high security. The scanning tool you select must best suit your enterprise and device platform to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
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