Mobile Application Penetration TestingWhat is mobile app penetration testing?

What are the benefits of mobile app penetration testing?

Increasingly, mobile applications are the default way that users interact with mobile devices. Applications bring rich and native functionality to a mobile device in a way that exceeds what is generally possible with a web application. The increased prevalence of mobile applications has resulted in increased levels of personal data and sensitive functionality being handled by them.

Mobile app penetration testing involves expert mobile security specialists following a rigorous methodology to determine the overall security posture of a given application. Put simply, these experts replicate the threat posed by an array of threat actors of all sophistication levels. They will be able to determine the resilience level of your mobile application to these different threat actors. Where security gaps are identified, you’ll be told in easy-to-understand terms what the impact is and – more importantly – how to remediate the problem. Where positive security controls are identified, an in-depth mobile application penetration test will tell you about that, too, so that you can keep on doing those things, safe in the knowledge that you’re doing things the right way.

There are many groups that benefit from a mobile application penetration test:

• Developers gain assurance that their product is safe and secure for their customers.
• Organisations gain assurance that a given mobile application is safe to introduce to their enterprise environment.
• Users feel safer with the knowledge that a mobile security test has taken place, which in turn allows them to confidently use the application.

Put simply, a high-quality mobile application penetration test tells you what a mobile application is doing right and what it’s doing wrong in terms of its cyber security posture.

Are your mobile apps secure?

Mobile applications are a regular part of today’s world. User behaviour and preferences are moving increasingly towards a world of mobile computing. The differences between workstations, laptops, tablets and phones are ever-diminishing.

Many of those applications store and process sensitive data and functionality. How, then, do we know they’re safe to use? A large part of that question can be answered with a mobile application penetration test.

Why LRQA Nettitude?

At LRQA Nettitude, we understand the need for mobile application assurance. We also understand that not all assurance activities are created equally. We strive to always be a top tier provider of mobile application penetration tests.

• We have penetration testers that specialize in different disciplines. You will always get one or more testers that specialize in mobile application security specifically. You won’t find us putting web application penetration testers on your mobile application test if they don’t also specialize in mobile applications.
• We have the credentials to back it up. While we don’t think certification is the only important factor, we do understand its importance. Our team of penetration testers has a very wide array of highly sought-after practical certificates, including CREST and Offensive Security.
• We don’t use a cookie cutter approach. We take the time to understand your organisation, your objectives and your primary security concerns. We conduct your mobile application penetration test with those aims at the forefront of our mind.
• We provide a penetration test, not a vulnerability scan. The core value of a mobile application penetration test from LRQA Nettitude comes from one or more expert penetration testers thinking like an attacker and manually assessing your mobile application. We are big on exploitation: we will establish rules of engagement and then, within those rules, demonstrate the impact of a vulnerability by fully exploiting it.
• We have a team of enthusiastic security experts. We are passionate about cyber security and we understand the importance of a happy team that stays at the cutting edge. All employees have access to our research and innovation team, receive regular training and often go to conferences. This translates into the highest possible quality mobile application penetration test for you.
• We provide a highly consultative service. We are not a black box where a scope enters, and a report exits. The entire process is communicative and consultative. We pride ourselves on keeping our clients in the loop throughout the entire process.
• We report in a flexible and easy to comprehend manner. By default, you’ll receive a management report which speaks in terms of business risk, and a technical report which goes into more detail – including clear impact statements, a description of exploitation, clear reproduction instructions, and customized remediation advice. If you need output that’s a little bit different, then tell us: we pride ourselves on our flexibility.
• We offer executive and technical debriefs for every single mobile application penetration test we conduct, regardless of whether the test lasted for one day or one hundred days. Our penetration testers are trained to be able to speak in both technical and business terms.
• We aim to forge lengthy relationships. We want to be your cyber security partner, and that includes making our entire team available for you well after your mobile application penetration test ends, included as part of the service.

FAQ

We are often asked similar questions about mobile application penetration testing. We have collated those questions and answered them here.

• What is your lead time for a mobile application penetration test?
  We have a team of expert mobile application penetration testers and they are always in demand. We match internal training and recruitment with external demand as efficiently as possible. Our aim is to be able to commence mobile application penetration tests within two weeks. Where there’s urgency, we can usually do what it takes to meet your deadlines.

• How long does a mobile application penetration test take?
  The length of a mobile test very much depends on the complexity of your requirement and the level of assurance you require. Most mobile tests are at least three days per application. We are providing a manual penetration testing service rather than an automated scan. Speak to one of our experts in order to get a bespoke proposal for your mobile application test.

• What is your mobile application penetration testing methodology?
  Our mobile testing methodology follows the key phases of reconnaissance, enumeration, discovery, exploitation and post exploitation. We do use automated tools in places in order to achieve breadth of coverage, but most of the value comes from manual penetration testing. Here, we provide depth of coverage and it’s what we spend most of our time doing. We are happy to provide more detailed information on request.

• How will you tell me what the findings of my mobile application penetration test are?
  We are communicative and consultative. During the engagement, we’ll periodically update you with the findings so far – both positive and negative. Where we identify critical severity flaws, we will let you know via telephone immediately, and follow up in writing. At the end of the engagement, you’ll receive a summary of all findings. By the time you receive your in depth reports a few days later, you’ll have no surprises: we communicate as we go. After delivery of the reports, we’re more than happy to give you technical and executive level debriefs. Finally, you have full access to our team of mobile application penetration testers after the engagement has completed. We’re here to answer any security questions you may have into the future.

• Will you help me to remediate vulnerabilities identified during the penetration test?
  Our team of mobile application testers understand how to build applications, as well as how to break them. We will give you custom remediation guidance for every vulnerability that we identify during the test. If you have constraints, we’ll work with you to understand those and propose an appropriate solution to any given vulnerability.

FAQ

We are often asked similar questions about mobile application penetration testing. We have collated those questions and answered them here.

• What is your lead time for a mobile application penetration test?
  We have a team of expert mobile application penetration testers and they are always in demand. We match internal training and recruitment with external demand as efficiently as possible. Our aim is to be able to commence mobile application penetration tests within two weeks. Where there’s urgency, we can usually do what it takes to meet your deadlines.

• How long does a mobile application penetration test take?
  The length of a mobile test very much depends on the complexity of your requirement and the level of assurance you require. Most mobile tests are at least three days per application. We are providing a manual penetration testing service rather than an automated scan. Speak to one of our experts in order to get a bespoke proposal for your mobile application test.

• What is your mobile application penetration testing methodology?
  Our mobile testing methodology follows the key phases of reconnaissance, enumeration, discovery, exploitation and post exploitation. We do use automated tools in places in order to achieve breadth of coverage, but most of the value comes from manual penetration testing. Here, we provide depth of coverage and it’s what we spend most of our time doing. We are happy to provide more detailed information on request.

• How will you tell me what the findings of my mobile application penetration test are?
  We are communicative and consultative. During the engagement, we’ll periodically update you with the findings so far – both positive and negative. Where we identify critical severity flaws, we will let you know via telephone immediately, and follow up in writing. At the end of the engagement, you’ll receive a summary of all findings. By the time you receive your in depth reports a few days later, you’ll have no surprises: we communicate as we go. After delivery of the reports, we’re more than happy to give you technical and executive level debriefs. Finally, you have full access to our team of mobile application penetration testers after the engagement has completed. We’re here to answer any security questions you may have into the future.

• Will you help me to remediate vulnerabilities identified during the penetration test?
  Our team of mobile application testers understand how to build applications, as well as how to break them. We will give you custom remediation guidance for every vulnerability that we identify during the test. If you have constraints, we’ll work with you to understand those and propose an appropriate solution to any given vulnerability.