Parameters To Look At While Evaluating Mobile Application Security Solutions

Mobile applications have gained popularity fast – making it a real challenge for developers to keep up with demand and competition.

This has led to app security not getting appropriate attention, which in turn has led to vulnerabilities creeping into most apps, even the ones deemed to be secure and impenetrable. Although the most apparent vulnerabilities are prioritized and fixed, there are few security flaws often left unnoticed and buried deep within.

To discover and patch these flaws require extensive research, mobile app security tools, and advanced mobile application assessment techniques such as VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing).

Apps behave differently on actual devices, so they need to test apps and platforms with that in mind. The ability to plug into existing test environments plays a critical role in evaluating mobile apps security.

These mobile security solutions have not only gained fame but have turned into a necessity.

Things to consider while choosing the right mobile application security solutions

There are several mobile application security tools available in the market; however, businesses need to consider several aspects while choosing the most-suited security solution.

• Integrations

Smooth integration with already built-in resources remains one of the top priorities that businesses look at before investing in advanced security solutions. The most common question asked to Vulnerability Assessment (VA) vendors is whether their solution sufficiently supports integration with the existing resources or not. Efficient VA tools quickly and smoothly integrate with the cloud or other virtual environments, network topology tools, ticketing systems like ServiceNow and Jira, automation tools, and also with other existing security solutions like IDS/IPS. 

• False positives

False Positives may seem like a must-have proactive approach, but the fact is that it might hamper the testing process negatively. VA tools flag a false security threat alarm as some proactive approach highlighting even the slightest possibilities of a security threat. Though this seems like a positive practice, it does harm productivity in the long run.

It might end up creating a substantial negative impact as after a few false positives highlighted by the system, the tester assumes that the upcoming vulnerabilities have fewer chances of being right, and so pays less attention to them. Firms need to invest in the VA tools, which precisely flag the vulnerabilities with the minimum number of false positives.

• Ease of use

Considering the VA solutions, ease of use and flexibility remain the topmost priorities. The security solutions need to be easy to operate and have a user-friendly interface. The VA solutions need to be seamless and least confusing to be utilized to their optimum potential. Also, more complicated solutions with huge maintenance requirements will turn out to be a burden or an add-on task which employees will avoid.

• ROI

Vulnerability assessment tools demand extra attention and extended funds/investments from the enterprise budget. And, as firms take the decisions to tweak their budgets to incorporate the added security layer, they will look for the option assuring them decent ROI. The VA vendors will get scrutinized and evaluated to select the one offering maximum ROI in the minimum payback period.

• Accuracy and speed of analysis

Every business investing in VA tools has the basic expectation about the accuracy and the timeliness of the vulnerabilities being identified and highlighted. If the tool is inaccurate, it will produce testing errors or false positives, overlooking the actual vulnerabilities. In this case, the staff can easily lose interest and trust in the analysis provided by the solutions.

Also, detecting threats swiftly and in real-time is vital for any vulnerability assessment tool. The detection mechanism should be so prompt that the threat actors stand no time or a chance to fool around with sensitive data in the system.

• CXO Dashboard for Reporting

Even the most basic VA tool can generate an overwhelming number of alerts, supported by vast quantities of data. But, the real challenge is to assess them effectively to present accurate challenges with clear and actionable insights on the dashboard for reporting.

One of the most critical requirements from all VA solutions is whether they offer a combined view of asset information, vulnerabilities, and configurations to simplify CXO decision-making and strategizing processes. Also, customizable dashboards in all VA solutions are preferred.

• Number of team members addable

The evolving mobile security threats in today’s cybersecurity landscape have pushed the need for firms to have a larger security team at work. Before investing in any VA tool, businesses check for its capability to incorporate different team members working on diverse projects. The solution needs to give the flexibility to add multiple team members to assign their respective apps effectively.

• Compliance and regulations

All VA tools should adhere to global compliance and data privacy regulations. The Vulnerability Assessment tools need to continuously scan the apps for compliance gaps like GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, CCPA, VPPA, and OWASP. The security tests must match international standards to be declared competent enough to highlight security issues in real-time.

• Flexible, deployable models

Every business has a unique operational model with specific IT challenges pertaining to its domain. The most effective VA tools offer flexible deployment models having a variety of engagement approaches to match the unique security requirements of businesses.

• Remediation guidance

The investment made on any advanced tool or solution today is primarily justified by how future-ready it is. Businesses are willing to invest in the VA tools which support their digital transformation and modernization journeys, helping them to be future-proof operations.

How should organizations evaluate new vendors for security?

A vendor security assessment allows organizations to effectively identify the risks associated with leveraging any third or fourth-party vendor’s product or tool. Companies focus mainly on strengthening the internal cybersecurity posture of firms, while they end up overlooking the vendors’ cybersecurity practices. And this is precisely where most of the cyber threats evolve.

Reviewing and monitoring vendors’ cybersecurity framework throughout need to be a consistent and focused process. Continuous maintenance to effectively address threats in real-time is crucial to fix the weakest link across the chain of vendors.

The most reliable forms of vendor evaluation are:

• Gartner/G2 review

Before choosing the right VA vendor for mobile security, the most common and reliable platform for comparison is Gartner/G2. Genuine customer testimonials, reviews, and expert opinions published on these platforms guide customers in making appropriate investment decisions mapped with their security needs.

• Workforce cost vs. Cost of the product

With the budgets getting shrunk, ROI on the VA mobile testing tools remains to be a crucial driver. Also, the workforce cost, which measures the total employee efforts put in the adoption process, needs to be evaluated. Spending too many funds or employee efforts into setting up a particular VA tool is never recommended.

• Open-source vs. proprietary tools

Open-source vs. proprietary tools turn out to be one of the most significant concerns associated with choosing the right VA solution. Open-sourced tools are certainly more effective and simple as compared to the proprietary ones, which require developing in-house teams. And this confusion can be resolved considering the workforce a company is ready and capable of dedicating to the tool.

• Flexible reporting

Flexibility and agility are the top expectations that firms have from all security tools. Security problems are very peculiar to each company’s needs and operation structures, and hence they require flexible reporting to fix these issues in real-time.

Qualities of Top-Rated Cybersecurity and Risk Management Companies

The right match will be a solution that helps at the strategic and tactical level, including asset discovery, defining the overall strategy, conducting vulnerability assessments, threat intelligence, intrusion detection, behavior monitoring, deploying the right technologies, and ensuring operational functionality. The perfect security company will address all aspects of the business to provide robust and complete cyber protection.

Below are the top qualities that are considered before selecting a cybersecurity or risk management partner:

• Reputation

Client references and reviews play an immensely crucial role in gauging the performance, reliability, responsiveness, and expertise of any tool. Customer feedback provides a holistic view of how the firm functions, to understand whether they are a good match for the organization‘s needs.

• Customer satisfaction

Client satisfaction testimonials and case studies help organizations to analyze the capabilities of vendors regarding resolving their peculiar business problems. How successfully the security solution has corrected similar issues in the past reinforces the investment decision of the firm.

• Future thinking

Cybercriminals are always advancing their tactics and upping their game. The best cybersecurity firms are well-aware of their past, current, and potential threats, and their focus is to be future-ready with advanced solutions. To be effective, leading security leaders need to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and techniques evolving in the cybersecurity landscape.

• Analogies to help non-technical buyers

Every security solution’s capabilities are analyzed based on how they train and help non-technical buyers. The entire solution should be simplified and the analogies should be designed to help non-technical buyers.

• Types of the client

Top-rated security agencies and MSSPs have customers across sectors and industries. It’s recommended to check for case studies related to the same industry to determine how familiar they are with the peculiar business problems. It’s essential to check whether the service providers have earlier dealt with similar types of systems, data, and applications. It is better to choose the vendors who have previously worked with competitors or other brands from the same industry.

Conclusion

Though the security solutions are upgraded and advanced continuously, cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated as well – making it more challenging day-by-day.

In fact, no company or industry can ever bet on being completely secure or immune to evolving cyber threats. Hence, the demand for effective security and risk management tools to safeguard data as well as eliminate the attack surface is multiplying in today’s digitally connected world.

Outsourcing security solutions has turned into a standard practice for all large as well as small firms. Employing an in-house cybersecurity team and tools can be expensive, whereas outsourcing is any day more convenient and cost-effective for a variety of reasons.

But choosing and evaluating mobile application security solutions is never easy as there is a lot to consider while selecting the best cybersecurity partner for their business. Security service vendors vary as wildly in quality and scope as their solutions, products, and technologies. Smart and appropriate vetting will allow companies to make smart decisions when it comes to risk management and cybersecurity.