According to a research by comScore, the number of mobile internet users outpaced desktop internet users in 2015. As smartphones become more powerful, user-friendly and fast, this trend will likely continue in the future. As a result businesses, big and small, have now started optimizing their offerings for a more mobile friendly experience with the development of exclusive applications and responsive designs.

Consequently, the demand for more secure mobile applications, payment procedure, credential protection and more has also increased. With this, a number of new developments are taking place and new trends are emerging. Here, we shed light on a few mobile security predictions for the year 2016.

Password theft or reuse attacks will decrease

Advancement is biometric technology, coupled with the fact that more new mobile phones have finger printing scanners as a standard feature, are going to play a major role in enhancing data protection and security. Furthermore, the development of advanced password management software and backup solutions has also made it easy to access password repository quickly and safely. As a result, password theft cases and reuse attacks have decreased and will further decline in the future.

Google will step in

According to a research by Alcatel-Lucent in 2014, 0.68% of all mobile devices were infected with malware of which 99% were running on Android; the most widely used mobile operating system in the world. Considering the growing insecurities and efforts to enhancing mobile security, Google has decided to step in. In the future, it is likely to address these issues by clamping down on third party application stores, restrict permission to applications that have not undergone the proper Google Play submission process, develop security standards for apps and more.

iOS will become the next target for hackers  

As the number of iPhone users in the market increases, malware author and hackers in the very close future will turn their attention towards iOS. According to experts, the previously discovered “XcodeGhost” malware in a number of App store applications was just the beginning of what will happen. The first wave of target for these attackers will be the already vulnerable jailbroken iOS devices.

Regulatory and compliance policies will encapsulate mobile devices

Data security compliance practices in the future will include mobile devices as well. While certain countries like Canada and Hong Kong have already taken initiatives, it won’t be long till other countries catch up. Again, this is important because of the ever increasing number of smartphone users, and the rising popularity of hybrid devices- laptop/tablet, phone/tablet.

The need for mobile application security testing services will increase

As security becomes an important concern, companies will outsource and utilize web and mobile application testing and security services in the future, more than ever before. There is no doubt that consumers are becoming more conscious about safety and security of their private data. Who knows, this might just become the decisive factor as to whether a potential customer chooses to use your application or that of your competitor’s.

If you are looking to proactively adapt to the changing trends by making your mobile application more secure, contact us now because it just so happens that we are specialists in doing that.