A Practical Approach to Android Mobile Application Security

Year 2018, Volume: 6 Issue: 4, 53 - 58, 31.12.2018

Sakir Tasdemir , Ahmet Caliskan

Abstract

In parallel
to rapid developments in computer technology, the number of mobile applications
developed for the devices also increases. Mobile applications make life easier,
but also bring some risks. These applications may create some weaknesses due to
mistakes in the app development or use phase. In this study, a sample security
test was performed for mobile application security awareness. This paper
related to phising attacks to Android mobile users and data storage security on
Android device. The sample mobile application has been decompiled. The
malicious code was injected into the sample app. After the code was injected
into the sample banking application developed, the user interface was modified.
In addition, when the application is open, the user's credit card information
is requested. After the user fills information, the credit card information is
sent to a different phone number (attacker’s phone number) through an SMS. The
mobile user is at risk of stealing sensitive information. This study also shows
that the data stored in the device can be accessed through the Android Debug
Bridge (ADB) shell commands. As a result, this paper shows that the application
developer should be more careful during the development phase and the device user
should be more careful during the use phase.

Keywords

Android, Spyware, Reverse Engineering, Vulnerability, Phishing, Security

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