App Security: Decide If You Need to Make Changes to Your App
Learn why businesses have made app changes. Review the security of your app. Find out how to get help from a San Jose computer network security company.
In January 2020, a survey was released showing that 61% of businesses have recently made changes to their apps due to security concerns. This shift highlights the importance of app security, and if your company has an app, you should be paying attention to these issues.
Is your app secure? If not, a San Jose computer network security company can help. Here is what you need to consider.
Do You Have the Right Vendor?
Just over 44% of the businesses who migrated to an alternative application (27% of all survey respondents) jumped from one off-the-shelf vendor to another. When you’re selecting a software vendor or reviewing your current vendor, look carefully at their security efforts. While some companies have large teams dedicated to security, others don’t have this safeguard in place.
To assess a company’s security, ask about their security processes. Do they have a bug bounty program? How long do they take to generate patches? If they ignore issues for months or even years, they don’t have the kind of commitment to security your business needs. Threats are constantly changing, and you need to ensure your vendor is keeping up with all relevant issues. Take the time to review their services and consider reaching out to new vendors as desired.
Is Your In-House Team Providing Adequate Security?
Apps can hold a lot of data, and if that info gets compromised, you risk losing customers, damaging your reputation, and hurting your bottom line. In-house app development can offer a lot of advantages. In particular, you get to work with a team who is intimately familiar with your corporate culture, and they are at your disposal at all times.
However, many in-house teams lack security training. When asked to name the most significant risk to app security, 38% of respondents said developers untrained in security. These concerns drove 16% of all respondents to switch from an in-house app to a commercial off-the-shelf product. In other words, over a quarter of all companies who changed their apps moved away from using in-house teams.
Is Your Off-the-Shelf Solution Secure?
At the same time, app security concerns drove some companies in the opposite direction. Approximately 12% of total survey respondents (nearly 20% of businesses that made app changes) moved from an off-the-shelf product to an open source app or an in-house developed app.
Although their reasons vary, they may have wanted to get away from known vulnerabilities in certain off-the-shelf products and toward a safer environment. They may have wanted more control over their app security or wanted to reduce overall costs. In other cases, they may have needed to move away from software companies harboring known security risks.
For example, the United States recently banned the use of tech from Huawei as well as security tools from several other Chinese companies. This is not new. In 2017, the government removed all Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity tools from federal systems. To safeguard your business, you need to ensure that you are not buying software from or working with companies that present security risks.
Is Your Open Source Software Vulnerable?
If you use open-source software for your app, you need to make sure that you are addressing vulnerabilities in these systems. Whether you’re working with an in-house development team or outsourcing your IT needs to a San Jose computer network security company, they need a process in place to address vulnerabilities.
While some companies embraced open source apps, 10% of companies that made changes moved away from open source apps toward other options. Representing only 6% of total respondents, this was the least common change, and while the majority of open source app users said they had plans for dealing with vulnerabilities, over 20% said they weren’t prepared to deal with these risks.
If you’re not sure about the security of your off-the-shelf product, you need to consult with a San Jose computer network security company. Contact us at Valtec Networks today. We can help you identify potential security issues and decide on the right direction for your needs.
