The best Mobile App Security Testing Tools for mobile app testing in 2022

Introduction

Once the multitudes of design decisions are dealt with, the issue of mobile app security becomes the most important to the development team. When a software application created for a mobile device is tested to see if it works fine on the following fronts, the process is called mobile application testing:

• Functionality
• Usability
• Performance
• Security

The procedure includes authentication, authorization, vulnerabilities to hacking, session management issues, and data security. Several tools are used to accomplish these. Mobile application security tools can offer continuous testing services that can be helpful throughout the software development lifecycle.

Mobile app security testing cannot be skipped because it is essential to prevent frauds, cyber-attacks, virus or malware attacks, and other security breaches. Since these applications are meant for use across multiple devices and platforms, testers need versatile testing tools to ensure that their application is safe and secure. The further sophistication of the different mobile Operating Systems does not help the cause of security. But on the upside, many tools are available and very useful- this article will explore seven of these.

7 of the Best Mobile App Security Testing Tools

ImmuniWeb Mobile Suite

As one of the best mobile app security tools in the market, the ImmuniWeb Mobile Suite is an online platform that lets developers scan for vulnerabilities. This cloud-based system provides backend testing along with checking for other security weaknesses.

Some of the advantages of using ImmuniWeb are as follows:

• It is affordable. It comes with flexible packages which allow developers to use it on a pay-as-you-go basis. They have a money-back guarantee in case of false positives.
• It provides backend testing with mobile app security testing.
• The tool promises a zero false-positives SLA.
• It allows 24/7 access and security analysis.
• It has a CI/CD tool integration feature.
• Holistic SAST and DAST testing for OWASP Top 10 for mobile is offered.
• It provides developers with CVE, CWE, and CSSv3 scores.
• They offer a one-click virtual patching service through WAF.

QARK

This tool provides static and dynamic testing scans through code. QARK is free and community-supported and is short for “Quick Android Review Kit.” LinkedIn, a social networking service company, developed QARK in 2002. The service is useful for Android platforms to find loopholes in the APK files and the mobile app source code.

Some of the advantages of using QARK are:

• It is available for Linux, Windows, as well as macOS.
• It is an open-source tool that is accessible free of cost. It is community-based and available for everyone.
• QARK provides in-depth analyses of security vulnerabilities and loopholes by generating a detailed report about the potential threats.
• It also scans the mobile application for misconfigurations.
• This tool makes a custom application simple for testing in the form of an APK.

The one disadvantage of QARK is that the service is only for Android platforms. It is also comparatively difficult to set up and maintain because of the lack of professional support.

Android Debug Bridge

The Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a command-line program providing mobile application security for Android devices. It can connect to several android devices or emulators and can be used as a client-server tool.

The advantages of using ADB as a mobile app security testing tool are as follows:

• It provides real-time monitoring of all system events.
• It can be integrated with Google’s Android IDE Studio.
• This can communicate with other tools using Bluetooth, USB, and Wi-Fi.
• ADB is usually included with the Android SDK package itself.

The one disadvantage is that it has no GUI environment.

Drozer

Drozer is a mobile app testing tool that allows the assumption of the role of an Android app to interact with other apps. It does it through Android’s Inter-process Communication (IPC) functionality. Drozer was developed by MWR Infosecurity, and it is unique for its interactive nature.

The advantages of using Drozer are:

• It is an open-source tool available universally.
• Java-enabled code can be executed on the device itself.
• The reach of MWR Infosecurity consultancy goes around the globe, to places like the US, UK, Singapore, and South Africa.
• It takes less time to assess the security-related issues because it automates the more complex, time-consuming issues.
• It can seek out issues from hidden weaknesses and provide solutions by interacting with the threat in the app itself.

The one disadvantage of Drozer is that it is only usable on the Android platform, but it supports both real and emulated platforms.

Synopsys

Synopsys offers comprehensive solutions which identify potential threats in mobile applications. Synopsys Technology is a US-based software company. This customized mobile app testing suite for client requirements was developed using different static and dynamic code scanners.

Some advantages of using Synopsys for mobile app security testing are:

• They combine many tools to arrive at the best solution for the clients.
• It helps reduce company expenditure on maintenance and improve the quality of the tests.
• It deals with all the vulnerabilities from APIs and server-side applications by using embedded software.
• They use both static and dynamic analyses to arrive at the best testing suites.

Selenium

Selenium can offer three different types of packages:

• Selenium WebDriver: It creates browser-based regression automated mobile app security testing and suites. This distributes scripts across different environments.
• Selenium Grid: this runs tests on various machines and across multiple environments from a central point.
• Selenium IDE: A Chrome and Firefox plugin, this records and plays user interactions back for reference. It can create glitch reproduction scripts to help with exploratory automated mobile app security testing.

Codified Security

Developed in 2015, CodifiedSecurity can identify and fix security vulnerabilities in mobile applications and provide real-time feedback on the results. CodifiedSecurity supports machine learning and static code analysis.

Using CodifiedSecurity can be advantageous in the following ways:

• It supports the upload of files of different kinds like APK and IPA.
• It supports platforms like Android as well as iOS.
• You can test mobile applications without retrieving the source code.
• Its programmatic approach allows for the test results to be scalable and reliable.
• The data source code is hosted on the Google cloud.

The disadvantage is that it is not available as an on-premises package.

Conclusion

Developers and testers need to choose the best manual or automated mobile app security testing tool for their software. Developers should keep the following features in mind while scanning the market for the appropriate tool:

• Continuous availability of the testing service.
• Deployment options include on-site software systems and SaaS packages.
• Complete feedback on the weaknesses discovered provided.
• Recommendations for remedies.

Value for money; the services must be worth the price.

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Interesting related article:

• What is an App (Application)?