What is device integrity?
Device integrity refers to the security state of a device, which indicates that the device is free from modifications like rooting, jailbreaking, debuggers, etc. This ensures that the device has not been compromised and the app is running in a secure environment. It is essential to maintain the integrity of a device to ensure that the app running on the device is protected from runtime attacks and misuse at the device level.
When a device is compromised through rooting, jailbreaking, hooking, or debugging tools, it becomes easier for attackers to manipulate apps, steal data, or bypass security controls.
Device Integrity Safeguards to Detect Runtime Attacks
- Root Detection: It checks if an Android device has been modified to remove security protections, which attackers can use to control apps.
- Jailbreak Detection: It finds out if an iOS device has been unlocked in unsafe ways that allow apps to be tampered with.
- Kernel-Level Root Detection: It detects big system-level changes that give attackers full control over the Android device.
- Unlocked Bootloader Detection: It identifies devices that can be easily modified to run unsafe or altered software.
- Malicious Root App Detection: It looks for dangerous apps that use root access to spy, steal data, or change app behaviour.
- Malicious Jailbreak App Detection: Finds harmful jailbreak tools that can monitor or manipulate your app while it’s running on an iOS device.
These attacks often happen after the app is installed, making them invisible to traditional security testing methods.
To learn more about these security features, refer to the above cards.
How to protect your app on compromised devices:
To protect and maintain device integrity, continuous runtime monitoring is necessary, not just static checks. Apps should verify whether they are running in a trusted environment and detect changes as they happen.
RASP solution (Defender): RASP solution Bugsmirror Defender is a runtime security solution that is integrated with the application and provides runtime protection from rooted or jailbroken devices, app tampering, debugging, etc. It detects these attacks and prevents them immediately, protecting the app from running in a hostile environment.
If the RASP solution is integrated into your mobile application, it will analyse device integrity, along with several other parameters, to determine whether the device is compromised.
Device integrity is a foundational part of mobile app security. Without it, even well-designed apps can be compromised on unsafe devices. By constantly monitoring the device environment and reacting to threats in real time, businesses can keep user data safe from fraud and build lasting trust in their mobile apps.