According to Digital.ai, 57% of all monitored apps are under attack, with gaming (63%) and FinServ (62%) apps facing the highest risk.
Although the study found no correlation between an app’s popularity and its likelihood of being attacked, Android apps are more likely to be placed in an insecure environment (76%) than iOS apps (55%). ) I found out. Android apps are more likely to run with modified code (28%) than iOS apps (6%).
“In 2021 alone, there were a staggering 100 billion mobile app downloads. The reasons and motivations for attacks against apps vary widely between curious and threatening attackers. is on the rise,” said Greg Ellis, general manager of application security at Digital.ai.
“In lucrative industries such as gaming and financial services, hacking games can be profitable and provide desirable ‘public trust.’ Our customers have determined that the best way to prevent attacks on their apps is to build security into them,” Ellis added.
Accelerate app development with AI code assistance tools
A combination of factors explains why an attack is likely to occur in 2023.
The pace of democratization of tools The proliferation of threat actors is accelerating. Recently, reverse engineering tools such as Ghidra and dynamic instrumentation toolkits such as Frida have become more sophisticated and popular.
The emergence of cryptocurrencies P2P payment apps also make it very easy for attackers to “cash out” their schemes, especially when ransomware is involved.
nationalization of attacks It has opened up vast resources to threat actors.
“Application owners are well aware of the pressure to build more applications, faster, especially with the addition of AI code assistance tools,” said Derek Holt, CEO of Digital.ai. “This leads to immediate changes in security, which are often not included in the DevOps process or seen as a roadblock without a clear starting point.”
Cybercriminals profit from pirated games
The study analyzed results across multiple industry sectors and found that gaming (63%) and FinServ apps (62%) are most likely to be attacked. The stakes are high in the $250 billion gaming industry.
Selling pirated games on gray market app stores like Cydia can generate direct income for hackers. Plus, you can make money in the micro-economies that popular games create and foster. Those who crack the most protected games are often celebrated and considered worthy of respect within the gaming community.
FinServ and non-gaming apps, such as implanted medical devices, Bluetooth-enabled phone apps, and retail stores, have a 54% chance of being attacked.
