Smart apps have been built primarily to provide consumers with enthralling functionalities that encourage convenience, ease of use, real-time services, and many other benefits. Developers essentially want to please customers with the motive of making their app successful. This often leads to giving less importance to the application's security and could jeopardize a customer’s personal or private identity.
In this article, we take a look at why a simple functionality like caching sensitive data can cause a world of trouble for businesses if not done right or if done at all.
There have been many instances in the past where hackers have been able to weave their way into users' personal information through various loopholes in applications without them even being aware, destroying businesses in the process. One such way is if users' sensitive data are cached within the app. Whether financially or competitively motivated, hackers will stop at nothing to see that their objective is in place especially if there is a functionality as easy as caching sensitive data to exploit.
1. Caching web application data may expose URL histories, HTTP headers, HTML form inputs, cookies, transaction history, and other such web-based data quickly revealed. Although not as easy to access through the web, mobile applications still give way to multiple entry channels by storing cached information.
2. Words a user enters via the keyboard are stored in the Android user dictionary for future auto-correction. The user dictionary is available to any app without requiring permission, which could lead to sensitive data being leaked. Recorded passwords and usernames from one app could sometimes be exploited by other apps.
3. Apps may cache camera images, which remain available after the app has finished. Cached images pose a threat of leaking personal and private information to hackers, which could ruin not only a company’s reputation but also the personal identity of an individual. Other threats that could arise out of this are bullying and blackmailing of an individual.
4. Application screens retained in memory enable transaction histories to be viewed by anyone with access to the device who can directly launch the transaction view activity. Malicious applications are sometimes created and launched by hackers. These apps can read data from retained screens of another application, which sometimes holds payment transaction history, account number, etc.
If you think you are making it convenient for consumers by caching their data (think again!), there is a higher price to pay, which no convenience can compensate for. Convenience can take you only so far. Accountability for consumer privacy and security is a key ingredient in making you successful in the long haul.