Bitsight: While mobile app security is an issue across all sectors, a new study shows that 50% of apps from media and entertainment companies put users at risk.
Research conducted by BitSight found that a significant percentage of mobile applications that involve business functions have security vulnerabilities.
“Mobile apps pose significant risks, such as data leakage, credential theft, and unencrypted personal information, when not properly secured,” said Dan Dahlberg, CTO at Bitsight.
Analyzing data from more than 10,000 companies across business services, finance, technology, education and media, BitSight found that at least one in two music, news, media and entertainment companies failed security tests. More than 10% of them have unencrypted location data, which could allow attackers to access a user’s GPS location.
Additionally, the research reports that because one in four finance companies offer risky mobile apps, there is the potential for bank accounts to be accessed without proper authorization.
“The Financial Services industry had the highest rate of SSL protocol issues (invalid TLS/SSL certificates): over 34% of applications that failed high-severity tests may be vulnerable to MITM (Man In The Middle) and other attacks that can compromise your data,” BitSight wrote.
In the area of services offered by businesses, especially in the education sector, 32% of tested mobile apps do not encrypt user data, including the IP addresses of their devices.
