Mobile Apps That Present the Greatest Risks

The business world has changed immeasurably since the introduction of mobile apps. Only five years ago, the idea of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives—along with employees installing software on their personal mobile devices and using them for work-related tasks—was largely unknown. Today, thousands of mobile apps exist, including a wide range of third-party tools that tap into everything from social media services to music and entertainment. Identifying the types of apps that present the greatest potential threats to business is a growing concern. Marble Labs, the threat research unit of Marble Security, has released a report that outlines the threat. "Marble Security Mobile App Threat Report March 2014" reports that certain categories and apps do present a greater threat to organizations. Marble Labs analyzed more than 200,000 Android apps during the month of February. It used static (permissions that apps request and data apps access), dynamic (studying apps over time) and behavioral (using a virtualized kernel to determine actual app behavior) analyses. "IT leaders need to consider the risks that apps can pose to the broader security posture of their organizations," advises Marble Founder and CTO Dave Jevans. "Employees who have risky apps on their devices can expose companies to devastating targeted cyber-attacks. IT leaders need to deploy security technology to analyze and prevent these risks on mobile devices." A number of the report's conclusions are listed in the following slides.