WHAT ARE THE MAJOR TIPS TO SECURING MOBILE APPS AGAINST REVERSE ENGINEERING?

With technological advancements, it has become extremely simple to break a smartphone application, particularly one for Android. The cracker can deactivate marketing and even disconnect it from several authentication services. Some people may want to unlock the program (device, programme, technology) to determine how it works and what particular features it has, either to create an even better application than yours or to entirely replicate it. This technique is called reverse engineering, and it has a wide range of applications in industrial and even military terminology. Antireverse engineering approaches, on the other hand, make it harder to reverse-engineer malware. Methods of evaluating a compiled software lacking accessibility to its source code are referred to as reverse engineering.

Following the principles below can make it tough to break the mobile app:

1. Save critical code portions to the server: -Eliminate the code from the software and relocate it to any internet platform which is protected by server-side language to avoid reverse engineering.For example, if a corporation has a special identifier or algorithm for its programme, it will not allow it to be stolen. They may avoid this by simply changing their code or algorithms and allowing the information to be processed on a web computer before accessing it through the application.
2. Use C/C++ to develop critical code:- Java code is easier to decompile than one created in C/C++. As a result, developers occasionally utilise NDK to put critical pieces of their code explicitly into so files. They also include those items as a built library. Although this code may be deconstructed into assembly language code, the procedure of reverse engineering a large library can be time-consuming and labour-intensive.
3. Be cautious while using SSL: -When interacting between a server and a device, developers utilise SSL to enhance the security of their applications.The class that implements the SSLSocketFactory interface contains numerous basic methods. Because these simple techniques allow all sorts of certificates, the application is exposed to middle – attack (MitM). This might jeopardise the secrecy of data transmitted using the SSL/TSL protocol.
4.  continuous testing in devops Avoid saving data in raw format: – It is not recommended to save values in raw format. Assume that the value of the user balance (in currency) must be kept; those values must be recorded in an encrypted format.
5. Make use of Database Encryption: -It is recommended to safeguard database files to improve data security. SQLite users can use an extension called SQL Cipher, which is a collection of open-source libraries. It is small in size, has little overhead, and transparently encrypts SQLite database files using 256-AES. It has grown in popularity among iOS developers for securing database files, and it is now accessible for Android app development as well.
6. Hide API keys: – Third-party providers often utilise an API key to give access to resources. They frequently utilise it to monetize their data. It is not suggested to save API keys in documents, resource directories, preferences, or as a Java hardcode. This is because they are readily unzipped and the API may be decompiled to obtain the key. To safeguard the API key, either use NDK or secret key exchange.

So,how to protect app from reverse engineering? It is not feasible to entirely secure the application against reverse engineering. However, you may try to safeguard Android applications to some extent using the methods described above.