Mobile Apps: A Hacker’s Goldmine of Private Data

Mobile applications are increasingly attracting the attention of cybercriminals, and with good reason. These apps contain a wealth of private information about their users. According to Exploding Topics, around 82.78% of iOS apps, approximately 1.55 million, track private user data.

Mobile apps have proven to be vulnerable attack surfaces for cybercriminals, with “invisible” points of entry and exit that can be compromised before traditional security tools detect a breach. These points include API calls, background syncing, and push notifications.

Satish Swargam, Principal Security Consultant at Black Duck Software, explained that users often grant broad permissions to mobile apps without considering the implications, which allows malicious apps to exploit these invisible points.

Traditional security tools often fail to identify suspicious behavior in time. AI-powered fraud can bypass multi-factor authentication, exploit memory-related vulnerabilities, and hijack transactions in real-time.

AI-Powered Attacks on the Rise

Tom Tovar, CEO of Appdome, stated that AI has transformed the landscape for protecting mobile consumers, transactions, revenue, and experiences. He believes it has lowered the barrier to creating, enhancing, and launching attacks against consumers.

Chris Hills, Chief Security Strategist at BeyondTrust, added that AI trained for malicious purposes can quickly scan, discover, expose, and exploit flaws. This makes the fight to harness AI for good purposes even more critical.

Mobile App Design Lacks Security

Frank Downs, Senior Director of Proactive Services at BlueVoyant, noted that mobile apps are tempting targets due to their ubiquity and the valuable information they hold. He explained that the potential for data harvesting is enormous, with everyone constantly using their phones. The diversity of operating systems and app stores also makes it challenging to implement universal security measures.

Chris Wingfield, Senior Vice President for Innovations at 360 Privacy, argued that many mobile apps are not securely designed and leak necessary information to attackers without resistance.

He explained that mobile apps constantly emit soft identifiers such as install IDs, ad SDK metadata, and analytics payloads, which expose device location and fingerprinting data. This data was not designed for security but for attribution.

Tovar asserted that the security model for mobile applications focuses on regulatory compliance rather than preventing fraud, account takeovers, or scams, making it an ideal target for attackers seeking financial gain.

Security Gaps Expose In-App Activity

Blackhat hackers are exploiting the focus on backend security at the expense of endpoint security. Kern Smith, Vice President of Global Solutions Engineering at Zimperium, explained that existing schemes often focus on backend analytics or user behavior signals, which fail to detect or stop threats occurring directly on the device or within the app, leaving gaps for malware, runtime manipulation, and credential theft.

Downs acknowledged that server-side protections and user activity analysis are crucial but often miss securing the app itself. This backend-heavy approach leaves vulnerabilities in app logic, data storage, and communication.

Wingfield noted that most protection schemes still assume the threat is credential-based, while modern targeting can begin before an account exists. He explained that ad SDKs, analytics tools, and attribution networks quietly collect metadata that leaves the app immediately, unencrypted, unaudited, and unnoticed.

Server-Side Risks

Jeff Williams, CTO and co-founder of Contrast Security, stated that while there are some client-side risks, almost all critical risks are on the server side because the server side holds data for all users. He added that opportunities for direct attacks on a mobile app are limited, as attackers typically target servers instead.

Eric Schwake, Director of Cybersecurity Strategy at Salt Security, noted a trend toward integrating in-app protection with traditional backend security measures. This approach recognizes that mobile applications are increasingly susceptible to attacks that bypass backend defenses and target the app directly. He said that in-app protection enhances security by reinforcing the app against tampering, reverse engineering, and runtime attacks, which is essential for tackling the evolving threat landscape.

Conclusion

The increasing collection of private data by mobile applications has made them lucrative targets for cybercriminals. Security gaps in app design, a focus on backend security, and the rise of AI-powered attacks contribute to the vulnerability of mobile apps. While server-side risks remain significant, integrating in-app protection measures is crucial for defending against evolving threats and safeguarding user data.