Mobile Security Still Being Compromised to Meet Business Objectives

By Avalon Siegel
June 8, 2021
6 min

The mobile app market is a large and fiercely competitive one. On Apple’s App Store, Google Play, and private commercial app shops, there are millions of programs accessible. Expanding market needs are continuing to increase the pressure to innovate. Therefore, new iOS and Android updates and mobile device releases are creating shorter app release cycles from companies trying their best to capture their customer’s attention.

The act of fast launching apps to meet market demands might lead to security concerns. Trying to achieve that all-important optimal user experience while bringing apps to market rapidly sometimes leads to inconsistent results, which can actually cause bad user experiences. Developers of mobile apps have the proper balance of delivery between speed, quality assurance, security, and privacy.

Cutting Corners

Implementing poor security in an app or handling application security as more of an afterthought is a surefire way to bleed red on a development project, not to mention ruining reputational value. Based on Verizon’s newest Mobile Security Index 2020 report, 43 companies polled have sacrificed mobile security in order to satisfy other business needs. However, this was a decrease from the previous year’s figure of 48%. 850 IT managers responsible for mobile device purchasing, management, and security responded to the survey. The most commonly stated reason was the need to meet targets stated either as a prioritization of time (62%) or money (46%).

It was noteworthy that expediency (62%), convenience (52%), and profitability targets (46%) were cited as drivers, far more than lack of budget (27%) and IT expertise (26%).

According to the same survey, one out of every twenty-five apps downloaded from public and private app stores leaked sensitive passwords, email addresses, credit card information, local data, and user IDs. Part of the explanation for this is due to substandard code and security testing shortcuts. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents to the Verizon survey claimed that cybersecurity issues are holding down their digital transformation efforts.

“It seems that many companies still see mobile security as an impediment to their business objectives rather than a business imperative in itself.”

But attitudes are changing…

87% of respondents said they were concerned that a mobile security breach could have a lasting impact on customer loyalty, and 81% said that a company’s data privacy record will be a key brand differentiator in the future.”

But what’s the hidden costs of taking shortcuts

Sacrificing the effort necessary to provide a secure user experience can severely weaken your credibility. One of the most critical aspects of a mobile app is security. One of the issues with DevSecOps and the Agile development process includes shortcuts that can be utilized to accelerate the process. Vulnerability testing is unfortunately one of the security testing functions that is frequently diminished or eliminated altogether. 66% of organizations that suffered a compromise called the impact ‘major,’ and 55% said the compromise they experienced had lasting repercussions.

In 2021, the global cost of data breaches is projected to be $6 trillion per year. This figure is more than double the 2015 cost of $ 3 trillion.

According to the Ponemon Institute and IBM Security’s 2019 Cost of Data Breach Report, the global average cost of a data breach has surged by 12% in the last five years to $3.92 million in 2020. The multi-year financial impact of breaches, greater legislation, and the laborious process of addressing cyber intrusions all contributed to this.