Posted: September 7th, 2015

Mobile App Security Assessment & Strategy Scenario.

Scenario:
A federal agency has asked your cybersecurity consulting firm to provide it with a white paper that discusses best practices for security architectures and designs for mobile apps. The white paper should also present the agency with a strategy for developing an award winning digital government mobile app for its submission to next years’ Mobi-Gov awards. The agency had several mobile apps in the “honorable mention” category this past year but, each of the apps failed to make passing scores in the mobile app security category. The contest rules do not allow revision and resubmission of entries from prior years. For this reason, your starting point should be recommendations for a security architecture for a completely new mobile app.
The scoring for the awards is organized around the three strategies from the federal government’s digital government strategy (see https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digital-government.html ).
1. Enable the American people and an increasingly mobile workforce to access high-quality digital government information and services anywhere, anytime, on any device.
2. Ensure that as the government adjusts to this new digital world, we seize the opportunity to procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure and affordable ways.
3. Unlock the power of government data to spur innovation across our Nation and improve the quality of services for the American people.
Research:
1. Research the “best” of federal mobile apps to see examples of the type of apps the agency will be competing against next year.
a. 19 of the Coolest Government Mobile Apps https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/cool-gov-mobile-apps/
b. 10 Most Entertaining Government Mobile Apps https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/10-most-entertaining-government-mobile-apps/
c. 3 Innovative Ways Agencies are Leveraging Mobile Apps https://fedscoop.com/great-government-mobile-apps
2. Research the federal government’s perspective on mobile app security architectures and design recommendations. Here are three sources to help you get started:
a. Mobile App Developers: Start with Security
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/mobile-app-developers-start-security
b. Mobile Security Reference Architecture
https://cio.gov/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/05/Mobile-Security-Reference-Architecture.pdf
c. Architecture and Design Considerations for Secure Software (Mobile Applications)
https://buildsecurityin.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/ArchitectureAndDesign_PocketGuide_v2%200_05182012_PostOnline.pdf
3. Research industry recommendations for mobile app security. Begin with the following sources:
a. OWASP Mobile Security Project https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Mobile_Security_Project
b. Top 10 Mobile Risks https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Mobile_Security_Project#tab=Top_10_Mobile_Risks
c. Mobile app security: Always keep the back door locked https://arstechnica.com/security/2013/02/mobile-app-security-always-keep-the-back-door-locked/
4. Find five or more best practice recommendations for ensuring the security of mobile apps. These recommendations must include security for the platform (mobile device), the data on the device, and the transmission path between the device and the mobile application server.
Write:
Write a  white paper in which you summarize your research and present your “best practices” based strategy for developing an award winning, secure mobile app. You should focus upon clarity and conciseness more than length when determining what content to include in your paper.

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