In-App Secret Detection
In cybersecurity, In-App Secret Detection identifies sensitive information embedded within a mobile application's code or data. This "sensitive information" or "secrets" can include things like:
API keys: Codes that grant access to external services.
Authentication tokens: Strings that verify a user or application.
Encryption keys: Data used to encrypt and decrypt information.
Passwords: Credentials for accessing accounts or systems.
In-app secret detection aims to find these secrets so developers can remove them, preventing unauthorized access and potential security breaches.
ThreatNG can help with in-app secret detection in the following manner:
External Discovery: ThreatNG discovers mobile apps in various marketplaces. This external discovery is the first step in identifying apps that may contain in-app secrets.
External Assessment: ThreatNG assesses the discovered mobile apps for the presence of various types of secrets:
Authentication/Authorization Tokens & Keys: ThreatNG checks for various tokens and keys, including but not limited to Amazon AWS Access Key ID, AWS API Key, Artifactory API Token, Authorization Bearer, Discord BOT Token, Facebook Access Token, GitHub Access Token, Google API Key, Google OAuth Access Token, Heroku API Key, MailChimp API Key, Mailgun API Key, PayPal Braintree Access Token, Picatic API Key, Slack Token, Square Access Token, Stripe API Key, Stripe Restricted API Key, Twilio API Key, and Twitter Access Token.
Authentication Credentials: ThreatNG identifies authentication credentials like usernames/passwords and OAuth credentials.
Service Account/Key Files: ThreatNG searches for service account/key files such as Google Cloud Platform Service Account.
Private Keys (Cryptography): ThreatNG also searches for private keys, including the PGP private key block, the RSA Private Key, the SSH DSA Private Key, and the SSH EC Private Key.
Reporting: ThreatNG provides reports that include findings related to the presence of secrets within mobile apps. These reports give organizations visibility into potential in-app secret exposures.
Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors for exposures, including looking for secrets within mobile apps. This ongoing monitoring helps organizations detect newly introduced secrets in their mobile applications.
Investigation Modules: ThreatNG's investigation modules are key to in-app secret detection:
Mobile Application Discovery: This module discovers mobile apps and analyzes their contents, explicitly looking for the presence of various secrets.
Intelligence Repositories: ThreatNG's intelligence repositories include information about mobile apps and the presence of various secrets within them. This can aid in identifying known patterns or high-risk secrets.
Works with Complementary Solutions: ThreatNG's in-app secret detection capabilities can complement other security tools:
For example, ThreatNG can identify mobile apps with potential secrets, and this information can trigger more in-depth analysis by specialized static or dynamic analysis tools that focus on in-app secret detection.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping:
ThreatNG can help an organization discover a mobile app that contains hardcoded API keys for accessing a cloud service.
ThreatNG can identify a mobile app that includes a private key used for encryption, which, if exposed, could lead to data breaches.
ThreatNG can detect a mobile app with embedded authentication tokens, which could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to user accounts.
Examples of ThreatNG Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG's обнаруженные secrets in mobile apps can be fed into a key management system to ensure that exposed keys are revoked and replaced.
Information on in-app secrets can be integrated into a security workflow to alert developers and security teams to remediate the identified issues.
