Mobile apps have become an essential part of our lives and are only growing in importance and popularity, and this makes mobile apps an increasingly valuable target for hackers and malicious actors. Yet, research by Build38 shows that over 75% of apps contain at least one vulnerability and unpatched flaws are involved in 60% of data breaches.
At the same time, research by Enterprise Strategy Group shows that organizations faced an average of nine mobile app security incidents annually, with an associated cost of nearly $7 million per incident. Despite these problems, 93% of organizations consider their existing mobile app protections to be sufficient. This disconnect between reality and perception suggests overconfidence in mobile app security and that making sure your app is secure and safe from malicious attacks is no easy task.
Below, we'll explore what mobile application protection is, how it works, how to implement it, and review the top protection tools that can help protect your app.
What is Mobile Application Protection?
Mobile application protection (MAP), often referred to as mobile app shielding or app hardening, is a multi-layered strategy designed to fortify mobile applications against a spectrum of threats. It goes beyond traditional security measures like secure coding practices and network encryption, focusing specifically on protecting the app itself, its data, and its runtime environment directly on the user's device.
Who Does MAP Protect?
- Users: By preventing data breaches, account takeovers, and malware injection, MAP ensures the privacy and security of your users' sensitive information.
- Businesses: It safeguards your intellectual property (source code, algorithms), prevents financial fraud, maintains brand reputation, and ensures compliance with data protection regulations (like GDPR, CCPA).
- App Integrity: It defends against unauthorized modifications, reverse engineering, and tampering, ensuring your app functions as intended and remains trustworthy.
What threats does MAP address?
Mobile application protection primarily targets client-side vulnerabilities and attacks that occur once the app is deployed on a device. These include:
- Reverse Engineering: Attackers trying to decompile your app to understand its logic, find vulnerabilities, or steal intellectual property.
- Code Tampering: Modifying the app's binary to alter its behavior, bypass security checks, or inject malicious code.
- Debugging & Hooking: Attaching debuggers or using hooking frameworks to inspect runtime behavior, extract keys, or manipulate data.
- Malicious Environments: Detecting if the app is running on a rooted or jailbroken device, or within an emulator, which can indicate a compromised environment.
- Data Theft: Protecting sensitive data stored locally on the device or transmitted over networks.
Mobile application protection transforms your app into a self-defending entity, capable of detecting and reacting to attacks in real-time, even when the device itself is compromised.
How Mobile Application Protection Works
Mobile app protection employs techniques that are typically embedded directly into the application's binary, allowing it to become "self-aware" and "self-defending." These mechanisms operate at various stages during the app's build process and continuously at runtime. Let's delve into the specific techniques that empower apps to become more resilient.
Code Obfuscation
The first line of defense involves transforming the app's code to make it incredibly difficult for attackers to understand or modify. This is achieved through code obfuscation, where the app's source code, once compiled, has its classes, methods, and variables renamed to meaningless strings, control flow altered (e.g., by adding dead code or splitting methods), and sensitive strings encrypted. While this doesn't change the app's functionality, it significantly hinders reverse engineering efforts. Complementing this, anti-tampering measures embed cryptographic checks directly into the app's binary. The app then uses these checks to verify its own integrity at startup or critical junctures, detecting any unauthorized modifications to its code or resources. If tampering is detected, the app can respond by refusing to run, alerting a backend server, or taking other predefined actions.
Runtime Application Self Protection
Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP) transforms the app into a vigilant bodyguard, allowing it to actively monitor its own execution environment and behavior in real time. RASP continuously checks for the presence of debuggers attached to its process, identifying attempts to inspect or manipulate its runtime state. It also verifies the integrity of the device it's running on, detecting indicators of compromise such as rooting (Android) or jailbreaking (iOS), the presence of emulators, or known malware. Furthermore, RASP includes memory protection, which monitors the app's own memory space for unauthorized access or manipulation attempts, preventing attackers from extracting sensitive data or injecting code. It can also perform dynamic integrity checks on critical code segments and data structures while the app is running and detect attempts to intercept or manipulate network traffic originating from the app. Upon detecting a threat, RASP can trigger various responses, such as terminating the app, alerting the user, sending an alert to a backend server, or degrading functionality.
Secure Data Storage and Communication
Protecting sensitive information, both when it's stored on the device and when it travels over networks, is crucial. Sensitive data stored locally by the app is encrypted using strong cryptographic algorithms, ensuring that even if an attacker gains access to the device's file system, the data remains unreadable without the correct decryption key. For secure communication, while standard TLS/SSL encrypts network traffic, certificate pinning adds an extra layer of defense. The app is hardcoded to trust only a specific server certificate or public key. If an attacker attempts to intercept communication using a fraudulent certificate (even if issued by a trusted Certificate Authority), the app will detect the mismatch and refuse to connect, effectively preventing man in the middle attacks.
By combining these techniques, mobile application protection creates a formidable defense layer that makes it significantly harder for attackers to compromise, reverse engineer, or tamper with your application, even in hostile environments.
How to Implement Mobile App Protection
Implementing robust mobile app protection isn't a one time task but rather a continuous process that integrates security throughout the entire application lifecycle. Organizations effectively weave these protective measures into their development and deployment workflows through a strategic approach, combining proactive design, intelligent tool selection, and ongoing vigilance. Here we’ll outline the key steps and considerations for effectively integrating mobile app protection into your development and operational workflows.
Implement Security by Design
The most effective protection starts at the very beginning, during the design and architecture phase, by embracing "security by design," often referred to as "shifting left." This involves integrating security into every stage of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), rather than bolting it on at the end. Key practices include comprehensive threat modeling to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities early on, considering likely attackers, their motivations, and potential exploitation methods. Additionally, developers are trained in secure coding principles to minimize common vulnerabilities from the outset, and security testing (including static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), and regular penetration testing) is incorporated throughout development, not just before release.
Choose the Right Protection Tool
A critical decision in this process is to select the appropriate protection tools, often involving a "build vs. buy" assessment. While some companies might attempt to "build" their own obfuscation or RASP features, this is a highly specialized and resource intensive endeavor requiring deep security expertise. For most organizations, leveraging commercial Mobile Application Protection Platform (MAPP) or app shielding solutions is more practical and effective. When evaluating vendors, it's essential to look for solutions that offer comprehensive features such as advanced obfuscation, anti tampering, RASP capabilities (including anti debugging and environment checks), and secure data and communication. Consideration should also be given to how easily the tool integrates into existing development and CI/CD pipelines, ideally as a post compilation step to minimize disruption. Finally, assessing the impact of the protection on app performance and size, and ensuring the tool supports all target platforms (iOS, Android, cross platform frameworks), are crucial steps.
Integrate Protection into CI/CD Pipeline
Once chosen, the mobile app protection should be seamlessly integrated into your continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline. Ideally, app protection becomes an automated step in your development workflow. After the mobile app is built and thoroughly tested, the protection tool should automatically apply its shielding layers to the compiled binary before it's packaged for release. This ensures that every release benefits from the latest security measures without requiring manual intervention, with DevOps engineers and security teams collaborating to configure and maintain this automated process, thereby embedding security deep into the development lifecycle.
Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation
Effective mobile app protection requires continuous monitoring and adaptation as mobile threats constantly evolve. Stay informed about new vulnerabilities and attack techniques through threat intelligence, and ensure your protection tools receive regular vendor updates to counter emerging threats. Post deployment monitoring is essential for tracking attack attempts and adjusting your strategy accordingly. Platforms like Luciq, a mobile observability platform, provide real time insights into your app's performance, stability, and user behavior in production environments. By monitoring key metrics, error rates, and user flows, such platforms can help identify anomalous behavior that might signal security incidents, even when your app protection solution doesn't explicitly flag them. This allows teams to correlate security events with operational data, understand attack impacts, and refine protection strategies periodically.
Top Mobile App Protection and Shielding Tools
To help you navigate the vast market of security solutions and put these implementation strategies into practice, we've compiled a list of some of the top mobile app protection and shielding tools. The table below provides a quick overview of each tool followed by more detailed descriptions of each.
Appdome
Appdome is a comprehensive mobile app protection tool that provides code obfuscation, data encryption, and advanced RASP features. Beyond these core protections, Appdome offers a wide array of additional security functionalities such as trojan protection, click bot protection, root and jailbreak detection, and more. Uniquely, the tool also provides optional mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) features, giving you granular control over how your app operates on company and BYOD devices.
Appdome is a post-processing tool engineered for easy integration with your CI/CD tools, fitting effortlessly into your development pipeline.
Platforms: iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, and Ionic
Pricing: Contact Appdome for a quote.
Build38
Build38 offers a Mobile App Protection Platform (MAPP) focused on delivering strong mobile app protection through code hardening, RASP, and secure communication. This solution is engineered to defend apps against a wide array of threats, including reverse engineering, tampering, malware, and data theft. Key features include advanced obfuscation, anti-debugging, anti-tampering, and environment detection (such as root or jailbreak status), all integrated via an SDK into your app's build process.
Platforms: iOS, Android, and various cross-platform frameworks
Pricing: Contact Build38 for a quote.
DexGuard and iXGuard
From Guardsquare, the creator of the popular open-source Android tool ProGuard, DexGuard (for Android) and iXGuard (for iOS) are leading mobile app protection solutions designed to secure your mobile applications and SDKs. These tools offer powerful polymorphic code obfuscation to protect against static analysis and introduce run-time application self-protection (RASP) checks into your code to counter dynamic analysis. Both DexGuard and iXGuard also provide access to ThreatCast, GuardSquare's real-time threat monitoring tool, helping you keep a vigilant eye on the threat landscape.
DexGuard and iXGuard are post-processing tools that seamlessly integrate into your CI/CD pipeline for an efficient workflow.
Platforms: iOS, Android, React Native, Unity, Cordova
Pricing: Contact GuardSquare for a quote.
DexProtector
DexProtector is a mobile app protection tool that provides the standard suite of obfuscation and RASP features, complemented by communication channel protection. A distinguishing feature of DexProtector is its Crypto Module, specifically engineered to protect apps that utilize cryptographic logic and securely store sensitive data. The tool also offers real-time alerting and monitoring for all threats your app may encounter, enabling you to stay informed about the evolving threat landscape.
DexProtector is a post-processing tool that integrates seamlessly with your CI/CD tools, ensuring a smooth fit into your development pipeline.
Platforms: iOS, Android, React Native, Xamarin, Unity, Cordova, and Ionic
Pricing: Contact DexProtector for a quote.
Digital.ai Application Protection
Formerly known as Arxan Application Protection, Digital.ai Application Protection is a key component of the broader Digital.ai platform, which covers the entire mobile app development lifecycle. This solution offers advanced code obfuscation and data encryption, alongside a strong set of RASP features, making it a robust mobile app protection offering. Users also gain access to Digital.ai App Aware, their real-time threat detection and monitoring tool, to maintain continuous oversight of their app's security posture.
Digital.ai is a post-processing tool designed to integrate effectively with your CI/CD tools, streamlining its inclusion in your development pipeline.
Platforms: iOS, Android, React Native, Cordova, Ionic, and NativeScript
Pricing: Contact Digital.ai for a quote.
DoveRunner
DoveRunner (formerly Appsealing) is a robust mobile app protection tool offering comprehensive features including code obfuscation, strong data encryption, and powerful RASP capabilities. DoveRunner's RASP features are designed for real-time protection, encompassing source code protection, app integrity protection, anti-debugging, network packet sniffing/spoofing tool detection, and cheat tool detection. The tool further enhances security with a real-time monitoring dashboard, allowing you to view and analyze all hacking attempts against your app.
As a post-processing tool, DoveRunner integrates smoothly into your CI/CD pipeline, and they provide a CLI for seamless integration with your existing CI/CD tools.
Platforms: iOS, Android, and React Native
Pricing: DoveRunner offers a free 30-day trial of its DRM license service, including up to 1,000 MAL and 50 MAU, with access to all Professional plan features (including the client SDK).
LIAPP
LIAPP is a mobile app protection solution that delivers advanced code obfuscation and a powerful set of RASP features. Its capabilities include memory protection, anti-tampering, root detection, virtual machine detection, and more. This tool is designed to prevent hackers from bypassing security measures and provides detailed reports on detected threats and how they were handled.
LIAPP is a post-processing tool that integrates seamlessly with your CI/CD tools, ensuring a smooth fit into your development pipeline.
Platforms: iOS and Android, but iOS support is only available on enterprise packages.
Pricing: $139.99 per month for the onsite plan offering basic protections. The business plan costs $249.99 per month and offers more advanced features, while the enterprise plan unlocks all the tool's capabilities.
OneSpan Mobile Security Suite
OneSpan Mobile Security Suite provides mobile app protection, particularly vital for industries like financial services. This robust suite includes advanced app shielding features such as code obfuscation, anti-tampering, and RASP, alongside secure authentication mechanisms like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and biometrics, and secure transaction signing. It is designed to protect against a broad spectrum of attacks, including malware, phishing, and reverse engineering, ensuring the integrity and security of your mobile applications and user interactions.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: Contact OneSpan for a quote.
Promon App Shield
Promon App Shield is a cutting-edge mobile app protection solution renowned for safeguarding applications from malware, tampering, and reverse engineering without requiring source code modifications. It employs powerful Run-time Application Self-Protection (RASP) and obfuscation techniques, with a particular focus on strong anti-tampering and anti-debugging capabilities. Promon App Shield ensures that your app remains secure and operates as intended, even in hostile environments.
Platforms: iOS, Android, and various cross-platform frameworks
Pricing: Contact Promon for a quote.
Quixxi
Quixxi is a versatile mobile app protection tool that allows you to scan your app for vulnerabilities, protect it from attacks through advanced code obfuscation and RASP features, and monitor your app's security in real-time. The tool also includes the Quixxi Licensing SDK, which can detect users who have illegally downloaded your app, offering options to convert them to paying users or block their access.
Quixxi is a post-processing tool that integrates with your CI/CD tools, ensuring a seamless fit into your development pipeline.
Platforms: iOS and Android
Pricing: The starter plan costs $9 per month but only covers the scanning feature, the pro plan costs $99 per month and unlocks all features for 2 apps and 50K users, and the business plan costs $299 per month covering all features for 4 apps and 50K users.
Seclron
SecIron Mobile Security Suite provides mobile app protection, particularly vital for industries handling sensitive data such as financial services, healthcare, and government. This robust suite integrates advanced app shielding features like code obfuscation, anti-tampering, and Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) with dynamic authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), biometrics, and secure transaction signing. Furthermore, it offers real-time threat monitoring and incident response capabilities to provide continuous oversight. It is designed to protect against a broad spectrum of attacks, including malware, phishing, reverse engineering, and data breaches, ensuring the integrity, security, and confidentiality of your mobile applications and user interactions.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: Contact SecIron for a quote.
Verimatrix XTD
Verimatrix XTD is a mobile app protection solution designed to safeguard applications across various industries, including media, finance, and gaming. It provides robust protection against reverse engineering, tampering, and malware through advanced code obfuscation, anti-tampering measures, and powerful Run-time Application Self-Protection (RASP) features. Verimatrix XTD ensures your app remains secure from both static and dynamic analysis, often integrating directly into the app's build process via an SDK.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: Contact Verimatrix for a quote.
Zimperium MAPS
Zimperium MAPS (Mobile Application Protection Suite) is a leading solution for mobile app protection, leveraging Zimperium's expertise in mobile security. It provides advanced code obfuscation, anti-tampering, and extensive RASP capabilities, including anti-debugging, anti-hooking, emulator detection, and robust root/jailbreak detection. MAPS is designed to prevent both static and dynamic analysis, ensuring your mobile applications are resilient against modern threats. This SDK-based solution integrates directly into your app.
Platforms: iOS, Android, and cross-platform frameworks
Pricing: Contact Zimperium for a quote. Free trial available.
Protect Your Mobile App with Agentic Mobile Observability
Implementing mobile app protection tools and security measures isn't a one-time deployment. It requires continuous monitoring and optimization to stay ahead of evolving threats. As you fortify your app with the protection tools discussed above, ongoing observability becomes critical to ensure your security measures are working effectively and that potential vulnerabilities or suspicious activities are detected before they impact your users.
Combine your mobile app protection strategy with Luciq's Agentic Mobile Observability platform to maintain comprehensive visibility into your app's security posture in real-time. Luciq autonomously monitors app performance and user behavior patterns, detects anomalies that could indicate security breaches or attempted attacks, and provides the deep insights you need to understand how your protection measures are performing across different user segments and app flows. With Luciq's intelligent monitoring, you can ensure that your security investments are delivering the protection your users deserve while maintaining an app experience that drives engagement and retention.