Secure Android App Development

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84% of security breaches are at the application layer, according to Gartner research. With mobile devices and their applications holding more and more sensitive data – from people’s locations to their personal information and financial data – ensuring that they are secure is essential, if people and companies are to trust them, and prevent the reputational and legal damage of a data breach.

Make security a priority during Android app development

On this free online course, you’ll learn about the common vulnerabilities found in Android apps, and how to detect and mitigate them. These skills are increasingly in demand as mobile applications proliferate in the workplace, and increasingly proof of secure code is required before companies will use them. Make security a priority during your Android app development to protect yourself, and the users of your application.

Over four weeks, the course will explore three aspects of developing secure apps in Android:

1. Why should you care about mobile app security? We’ll cover common application flaws, the cyber risk these expose, and how to control and mitigate this risk.

2. Security architecture on Android. We’ll examine the way the Android operating system compartmentalises code and uses permissions. We’ll demonstrate how to secure interprocess communication (IPC).

3. Static analysis of code. Finally, we’ll use the world’s most-adopted toolset, Fortify SCA from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, to identify and fix common vulnerabilities in Android apps. This is used by the majority of the largest IT companies, banks, pharmaceuticals, software vendors and telecommunications companies.

Learn with app security researchers and industry leaders

Secure Android App Development has been created by the Cyber Security Academy (CSA) at the University of Southampton, which facilitates use-inspired and multi-disciplinary research, education, training and outreach in cyber security.

The course has been developed in association with Hewlett Packard Enterprise as part of its mission to address the significant global skills shortage in cyber security and secure app development.

Secure Android App Development is intended for anyone who already has some experience of mobile development, ideally on the Android platform. You could be:

• a student currently studying computer science and cyber security;

• a professional who needs to understand the security risks associated with software development;

• or a programmer who needs to identify, analyse and manage risks, in order to make your coding and applications more secure.