Mobile applications introduce platform-specific security challenges that generic web application testing cannot address. For organisations deploying mobile apps — especially those handling financial transactions or sensitive data — understanding what mobile security testing should cover is essential.
What Makes Mobile Testing Different
Mobile applications operate in a fundamentally different environment from web applications. They run on devices the organisation doesn't control, communicate over networks the organisation can't trust, store data locally on the device, interact with platform-specific features (biometrics, cameras, GPS, push notifications), and can be reverse-engineered from the distributed binary. These factors create attack vectors that don't exist in web applications.
Android-Specific Testing
Android's open architecture creates a broader attack surface. Testing covers: APK reverse engineering and code analysis (looking for hardcoded credentials, API keys, and sensitive logic), insecure local data storage (shared preferences, SQLite databases, internal storage), exported components (activities, services, content providers, broadcast receivers) that expose internal functionality, custom URL scheme hijacking, certificate pinning implementation and bypass, root detection and bypass, and runtime manipulation using tools like Frida.
iOS-Specific Testing
iOS provides stronger platform-level security, but implementation flaws remain common. Testing covers: IPA analysis and binary inspection, Keychain storage security, IPC mechanism abuse, jailbreak detection implementation and bypass, App Transport Security configuration, biometric authentication bypass, and runtime manipulation.
The OWASP Mobile Top 10
The OWASP Mobile Top 10 provides the baseline framework for mobile security testing, covering: insecure data storage, insecure communication, insecure authentication, insufficient cryptography, insecure authorisation, client code quality, code tampering, reverse engineering, and extraneous functionality. A thorough mobile penetration test covers all of these and extends into application-specific business-logic testing.
Why Automated Tools Aren't Enough
Mobile security scanning tools can identify some common issues — insecure storage configurations, missing certificate pinning, basic code vulnerabilities. But the most critical mobile vulnerabilities — authentication bypass, business-logic abuse in transaction flows, improper session handling, and authorisation flaws — require manual expert testing with deep platform knowledge.
How Simuna Infosec Approaches Mobile Testing
Our mobile application VAPT covers both iOS and Android platforms against the full OWASP Mobile Top 10, with additional manual testing for business-logic flaws in transaction flows. For fintech and banking applications, we specifically test biometric authentication bypass, payment flow integrity, offline transaction handling, and credential storage security.