M9: Insecure Data Storage

Overview

Insecure data storage is a vulnerability in mobile applications that can attract various threat agents who aim to exploit vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This can lead to severe technical and business impacts, including data breaches, compromised user accounts, data tampering, reputation and trust damage, legal and regulatory consequences, and financial implications. To prevent insecure data storage, developers and organizations should implement strong encryption, secure data transmission protocols, secure storage mechanisms, proper access controls, input validation, secure session management, regular updates and patches, and stay informed about emerging risks.

Description

Insecure data storage in a mobile application can attract various threat agents who aim to exploit the vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. These threat agents include skilled adversaries, malicious insiders, state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, script kiddies, data brokers, competitors, and activists. They exploit vulnerabilities such as weak encryption, insufficient data protection, insecure data storage mechanisms, and improper handling of user credentials. Insecure data storage exposes vulnerabilities to attack vectors like unauthorized physical or remote access to the device's file system, weak encryption, intercepted data transmissions, and malware or malicious apps. It can lead to severe technical impacts such as data breaches, compromised user accounts, data tampering, and unauthorized access to application resources. The business impacts of insecure data storage include reputational damage, loss of customer trust, legal and regulatory consequences, financial implications, and competitive disadvantage. To prevent insecure data storage, developers and organizations should use strong encryption, secure data transmission, implement secure storage mechanisms, employ proper access controls, validate input and sanitize data, apply secure session management, regularly update and patch dependencies, and stay informed about emerging risks.

How to Prevent ?

To prevent insecure data storage in a mobile application and ensure the protection of sensitive data, developers and organizations should implement the following security measures: 1. Use Strong Encryption: Implement robust encryption algorithms and practices to protect sensitive data both at rest and in transit. Utilize industry-standard encryption algorithms and ensure secure storage and management of encryption keys. 2. Secure Data Transmission: Utilize secure communication protocols such as HTTPS and SSL/TLS to protect data during transmission between the mobile application and backend servers. Avoid sending sensitive data over unsecured channels. 3. Implement Secure Storage Mechanisms: Store sensitive data in secure storage locations that are inaccessible to unauthorized users. Utilize platform-specific secure storage mechanisms provided by the mobile operating system. 4. Employ Proper Access Controls: Implement strong access controls to restrict unauthorized access to sensitive data. Authenticate users securely, enforce role-based access controls, and validate user permissions before granting access to sensitive information. 5. Validate Input and Sanitize Data: Implement input validation and data sanitization techniques to prevent injection attacks and ensure that only valid and expected data is stored. Validate user inputs to mitigate the risk of malicious code injection or unintended data leakage. 6. Apply Secure Session Management: Implement secure session management techniques, such as using randomly generated session tokens, setting proper session timeouts, and securely storing session data on the client and server sides. 7. Regularly Update and Patch Dependencies: Keep all libraries, frameworks, and third-party dependencies up to date, as they may contain security vulnerabilities that could lead to insecure data storage. Regularly apply security patches and updates provided by the respective vendors. 8. Stay Informed: Stay up to date with the latest security threats and vulnerabilities in the mobile application landscape. Monitor security forums, security advisories, and mobile platform updates to ensure timely mitigation of emerging risks.

Example Attack Scenarios:

• Storing Passwords in Plain Text:  The mobile application stores user passwords in plain text format within a local database or file, making it easy for an attacker to retrieve and abuse these credentials if they gain unauthorized access to the device.

• Unsecured Local Storage:  The mobile application stores sensitive user data, such as personally identifiable information (PII), locally on the device without utilizing proper access controls or encryption. This allows anyone with physical access to the device to extract and view the data.

• Insecure Data Caching:  The mobile application caches sensitive data, such as user authentication tokens or session information, without implementing appropriate security measures. If an attacker gains access to the device's cache, they can obtain these credentials and impersonate the user.

• Unprotected Logging:  The mobile application logs sensitive data, including user actions, API responses, or error messages, without proper security controls. This can lead to unintentional exposure of sensitive information if an attacker gains access to the device or intercepts the log files.

• Insecure Cloud Storage Configuration:  The mobile application utilizes cloud storage services to store user data but misconfigures the storage permissions, allowing unauthorized access to the stored information. This can result in data leakage or unauthorized exposure of sensitive data.

• Improper Handling of Temporary Files:  The mobile application creates temporary files to process or store sensitive data but fails to properly handle and delete these files afterward. This leaves sensitive information exposed and vulnerable to unauthorized access.