How to Secure Hybrid Apps
Why is hybrid app security important?
A hybrid app is a development method that uses web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to create content areas such as screens and functions of an app, and packages them in a native container for app market registration and installation.By using both development approaches, you can use both web and app APIs, and access device-specific features that are not possible in web apps. While hybrid apps are a great way to take advantage of the power of web technology while maintaining the performance and user experience of native apps, they can reduce development time and costs, but there are many security vulnerabilities. Hybrid apps include web-based elements, so they inject malicious code, Because you may be exposed to risks such as data leakage and repackaging, you need strong security measures to protect your users' data and maintain the integrity of your app.
Key differences between hybrid and native app security
Native app security is optimized for a specific platform so that you can directly leverage the security features of the operating system, but you need to consider the security measures specific to each platform separately. On the other hand, hybrid app security is based on web technologies and runs on a variety of platforms, so the potential for exposure to web vulnerabilities is relatively high. These two development approaches have distinct security differences in terms of structure, data storage, security updates, and reverse engineering.
1. Structure and technology stack
- Native apps: Developed for a specific platform (iOS, Android, etc.), you can use the platform's APIs and features directly to take advantage of the platform's unique security features.
- Hybrid apps: Developed using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and run on native platforms via web views, which can make them vulnerable to web-based attacks (e.g., XSS, CSRF).
2. How we store your data:
- Native apps: Data is typically stored in the platform's secure vaults (e.g., Keychain on iOS, SharedPreferences on Android), which are highly secure.
- Hybrid apps: Data can be stored within a web view or stored in local storage, making it easy for attackers to gain access to the data.
3. Security Updates:
- Native apps: They must be deployed to users when they are updated, and they must be re-registered and approved. Even if the modified app is well registered, existing installers will need to update before the modified version can be used.
- Hybrid apps: They use web technologies, so any code updates on the server side can be immediately reflected in the client app. However, this is a risk if the security of the server is weak.
4. Reverse Engineering:
- Native apps: Native code is included, which can make reverse engineering more complex, but there are still security risks.
- Hybrid apps: Contains code written on web technologies, making it relatively easy to reverse engineer.
These differences affect the security approach of hybrid and native apps, and it's important to have a security strategy tailored to each type of app.
How to Secure Hybrid Apps?
1. Source code protection
Hybrid apps use web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so the source code can be decompiled and analyzed relatively easily. This can be exploited by attackers to gain insight into your app's logic, structure, API keys, and more. In addition, if sensitive information such as API keys, encryption keys, and server URLs contained in the source code is not protected, it can be exploited to cause unauthorized access or data leakage. In addition, if the source code is exposed, attackers can tamper with the app or inject malicious code to harm users, and competitors can copy or use it without permission. Therefore, source code obfuscation and encryption should be used to prevent analysis of source code and core logic.
LIAPP obfuscates the source code, making it difficult for hackers to understand the internal structure of the app. This prevents attacks through code analysis. You can also protect native code libraries to protect sensitive algorithms, keys, sensitive data, and more.
2. Use strong encryption algorithms
Hybrid app source information includes information for web access, as well as information for services that need to be kept confidential, such as finance or payments. Hybrid apps are particularly vulnerable to attacks due to the exchange of data between native code and web views, API calls, and so on, so it's imperative to encrypt sensitive user data before storing or transmitting it. It securely stores sensitive data on your device, does not store sensitive information in plain text, and uses encryption technology to protect data at rest.
Mobile App Security Keypad LIKEY is a security keypad service designed to keep users' personal information safe. LIKEY uses encryption algorithms to protect the information you enter, encrypting all information you enter as well as encrypting and storing the data you enter. In doing so, it uses a unique encryption algorithm to protect the user's input from being exposed to the outside world. All information you enter is stored encrypted, making it difficult for hackers to intercept and decrypt it. This greatly improves the security of the app on mobile.
3. Web View Security
In hybrid apps, the web view acts as a link between native and web content and is prone to security vulnerabilities. To avoid this, if you access native code via JavaScript, you should validate the input data and expose the interface to a limited extent. You should also set to allow only trusted domains when loading external URLs and prevent web views from accessing local files to prevent file-based attacks.
LIAPP protects the JavaScript interface in the web view, preventing external attackers from exploiting the app's functionality. This makes your app more secure.
4. App integrity verificationIn
hybrid apps, verifying the integrity of an app is an important security measure to prevent the app from being tampered with or malware injected. If an app is tampered with after it is deployed, it can cause damage to users, such as injecting malicious code and stealing data, so integrity verification is necessary to prevent this. To do this, the app must be deployed signed, and the signature must be validated at runtime. However, the logic to verify integrity is also contained inside the app, so even this logic above there is a risk of tampering.
For this reason, the app integrity verification logic must also be protected through LIAPP's source code obfuscation and source code encryption technology.
5. Deployment and Update Security
Hybrid apps are vulnerable to security threats when deployed or updated. If you deploy and update insecurely, there is a high chance that a malicious attacker will tamper with the app's installation files (APK, IPA, etc.) or distribute malware through fake updates. To increase security during the deployment and update of hybrid apps, you should distribute them through official app stores and apply digital signatures to prevent app tampering. In addition, it is important to control access to the backend server where the update files are stored and manage the security. You should keep your apps and dependencies up to date with security patches and software updates, while frequently updating libraries, frameworks, and SDKs to the latest versions to minimize security risks.
LIAPP finds vulnerabilities and strengthens security through pre-deployment app analysis of hybrid apps. It also uses anti-repackaging to prevent unauthorized changes to the app and ensure secure file distribution. In addition, security settings can be adjusted on/off on the fly without redeploying apps, allowing you to quickly change security policies.
Hybrid app security is essential to maintaining user data protection and trust. It's important to check your source code and update your library to minimize risks, and you should proactively identify vulnerabilities in your app through regular security audits. In addition, sensitive information can be kept safe through thorough user authentication and data encryption. It's also important to educate and raise awareness of users to create a culture of safe app use. After all, with thorough security management, hybrid apps will be able to establish themselves as a trusted platform that users can use with confidence.
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