Smartphones are a big part of almost everything we do these days, from banking to messaging to shopping to work. As mobile threats grow around the world, a lot of people are asking, "Can penetration testing really help keep our mobile security safe?" As of December 4, 2025, the answer is clearly yes. Penetration testing (pentesting) is a very useful way to protect the security of mobile apps, smartphones, and the internet on mobile devices.
Why mobile security needs to be a big deal in 2025
The "mobile threat landscape" is worse than it has ever been. Kaspersky's most recent data shows that attacks on Android smartphones rose by 29% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same time in 2024. Mobile banking Trojans also grew by almost four times.
This growth includes advanced threats like banking trojans, ransomware, malware that comes with the software, and more.
At the same time, a lot of mobile apps are now ways to access banking, health, communication, and identity. This makes a security breach even more serious. Because of this, mobile security in 2025 is no longer a choice; it is a must.
This is when penetration testing goes from being a nice thing for businesses to do to being an important part of keeping both businesses and regular smartphone users safe.
What is penetration testing, and why is it important for mobile?
What is penetration testing, anyway?
Penetration testing, or "pentest" for short, is a legal, fake cyberattack on a system (app, network, or device) that is meant to find holes in defenses before real attackers can use them.
For mobile apps, penetration testing means looking at both the code and how the app runs to find security holes, such as weak authentication, insecure data storage, flawed encryption, bad API communication, or misuse of permissions.
Why mobile app penetration testing is so important
• Apps deal with private information: Mobile apps may keep payment information, login information, personal information, or other private information. A flaw could let someone steal data or money.
• Modern apps are complicated and rely on third-party libraries, SDKs, or APIs. There may be hidden security holes in these third-party parts. Pentesting helps find these people before they become a problem.
• Different environments: Android and iOS work on a lot of different versions, types of devices, and settings. Some devices may be rooted or have custom firmware, which makes them easier to hack. Pentesting makes sure that behavior is the same in all environments.
• Compliance and regulation: Penetration testing helps apps that deal with personal, financial, or healthcare data meet standards and rules, such as data protection compliance.
• Keeping users' trust and reputation safe: A data breach can hurt brand reputation, break trust, or make users stop using an app. Proactive pentesting can stop that from happening.
• To put it simply, penetration testing is not something you can skip if your app deals with sensitive data.
What mobile app penetration testing is and how it works
Different kinds of tests in pentesting
Pentesters use different methods based on what they are looking at:
• Static Analysis: Looking over code (or compiled code) without running the app. This helps you find hardcoded passwords, data that is stored in an unsafe way, weak encryption, or unsafe use of APIs.
• Dynamic Analysis: Running the app in a controlled setting and interacting with it to look for runtime flaws, such as bad session management, wrong handling of user input, memory leaks, data leaks, or unsafe communication.
• Network Communication Testing: This checks to see if the data sent between the app and the backend servers is properly encrypted, if SSL/TLS is set up correctly, or if there are any problems with APIs or network logic.
• Testing for risks that are specific to devices: This means looking at how an app works on rooted or jailbroken devices, or on different OS versions and device types. This is especially important in Android's fragmented ecosystem.
Sub-point 1.2: What penetration testing finds
Penetration testing can find many kinds of problems using these methods, such as:
• Storing sensitive information (like passwords, personal information, and payment information) in an unsafe way, like not encrypting it or making it easy to get to.
• Weak or no encryption between the app and the server, which makes it possible for someone to intercept the data (man-in-the-middle) or change it.
• Bad authentication or session management that makes it easier for hackers to take over user sessions or get around login protections.
• Risks from third-party libraries or SDKs, especially those that have known security holes, old code, or too many permissions.
• Memory leaks or buffer overflows (in apps with native components), which could be used to crash apps or run bad code.
• What happens on hacked devices (rooted or jailbroken), like getting data, changing code, or getting around sandbox protections.
By finding these problems before the software is released, developers can fix them, which stops data breaches, malware infections, and fraud.
How to do effective penetration testing to improve mobile security
This is a simple checklist (or step-by-step plan) that developers or security teams should use to add penetration testing to mobile security. This is especially important for businesses or app teams that work on banking, fintech, or apps that handle private data.
• Define the scope and goals: choose the platforms (Android, iOS), app parts (frontend, backend, APIs), and threat models (data leakage, network interception, malicious code execution) that you want to test.
• Do static analysis: look at source code or compiled code (APK/IPA) to find insecure storage, hardcoded secrets, weak encryption, and permissions that are too broad (like giving access to the camera, SMS, and contacts when it's not needed).
• Do dynamic analysis: open the app in a sandbox or test device, mimic user flows (logging in, paying, entering data), and look for problems that happen while the app is running, like session handling issues, bad input validation, crashes that happen out of the blue, and data leaks.
• Check network communication: if testing allows it, intercept traffic to see if communications are encrypted (HTTPS, certificate validation), check API endpoints for weaknesses, and make sure that no sensitive data is sent in clear text.
• Test in a variety of settings, such as different OS versions, device models (especially older or lower-end devices), and rooted or jailbroken devices, to see how the app works in the real world.
• Check third-party dependencies: look over external libraries, SDKs, and ad modules to see what permissions they have, how they work, when they were last updated, and any known security holes.
• Write down what you found and fix it: make a full report that lists the vulnerabilities you found, how serious they are, and how to fix them. Then developers should fix the problem, test it again, and check it again.
• Do it regularly, not just once. Do it whenever there are app updates, library updates, OS changes, or new features.
This checklist helps make sure that mobile apps are safe from the changing threats that come with mobile devices.
Why penetration testing is more important than ever: new threats and ways to attack
In the last few years, attackers have been focusing more and more on attacks that target mobile devices. The 2025 Global Mobile Threat Report says that mobile-first attack strategies are the most common type of threat.
One trend that is especially scary is the rise of "zero-click exploits," which are attacks that can compromise a phone without the user doing anything (no click, no download, no link).
Zero-click attacks take advantage of weaknesses in messaging apps, firmware, or OS parsers. Once activated, they can install spyware or malware without making a sound. This threat has been shown to be real in the real world on both Android and iOS.
Because of these risks, even careful users might be at risk. This makes mobile endpoint protection and penetration testing more important than ever. Pentesting finds weaknesses that attackers can use before they do.
Example
Let's say that a banking app uses a third-party SDK to handle payment OTPs (one-time passwords). If this SDK is not set up correctly or is out of date, it could make network communication less secure or store data in an unsafe way. A penetration test could find these problems and make developers improve encryption, carefully manage permissions, or stay away from insecure libraries. This would stop banking Trojans or overlay malware from taking advantage of those weaknesses.
A zero-click exploit could also compromise the device without pentesting, even if the user never installed a suspicious app or clicked a link.
Key Insights: The Good and Bad of Mobile Penetration Testing
Good things
• Helps find hidden weaknesses in code, data storage, communication, and configuration before attackers can use them.
• Protects both users and businesses by lowering the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and fraud.
• Helps meet security standards and rules (very important for finance, health, and business mobile apps).
• Shows that security is important, which builds user trust and protects the brand's reputation.
• Less expensive than dealing with a security breach after the fact (breach remediation, loss of reputation, legal fees).
Problems
• Pentesting takes time and money, which can slow down development or releases. Cost goes up when things are complicated, especially for big apps.
• If you only do it once, it might give you a false sense of security. Updates, changes to third-party libraries, or changes to the operating system can all make new vulnerabilities appear.
• Some vulnerabilities, like zero-day zero-click flaws, may not be known or documented yet. Pentesting may not find them until a patch is released or the threat model grows. I can't promise that pentesting will find every threat.
• Permissions that are too broad or third-party SDKs that don't work right may come up later, which will require more testing.
Common Questions (FAQ)
How can I keep hackers from getting into my smartphone in 2025?
Use strong locks (PIN/biometric), keep your operating system and apps up to date, don't install apps from untrusted sources, be careful with app permissions, and if you're a developer or business, use penetration testing and mobile endpoint protection for your apps.
Do I need antivirus on my phone?
Antivirus software (or mobile security apps) can help protect you, especially if you use them with safe behavior. But they aren't enough on their own. For apps that deal with sensitive data, security also depends on proper app development, safe settings, and regular pentesting.
What is a zero-click exploit on a mobile device, and how can I find one?
A zero-click exploit is a type of cyberattack that gets into a device without the user doing anything, like clicking or downloading. As a regular user, you can't always "check" for it. The best way to protect yourself is to keep your OS and apps up to date, install security patches as soon as they come out, and stay away from messages or apps that seem suspicious.
How often should you test mobile apps for security holes?
Whenever there are big updates, changes to the code, new third-party libraries, or new features, you should do this often. It's not often enough to pentest just once at launch because the mobile threat landscape changes quickly.
What to Do Next and the End
There is a big risk to mobile security in 2025. The rise in mobile malware, banking trojans, zero-click exploits, and attacks on both Android and iOS shows that relying only on built-in security or reactive antivirus is not enough.
Penetration testing lets developers and businesses actively look for security holes, fix them before they can be used, and keep users safe. Mobile app penetration testing is a must for anyone who makes or uses apps, especially for banking, payments, messaging, or sensitive data.
If you make mobile apps or are in charge of mobile security for a business, I suggest that you set up a regular schedule for pentesting, add mobile endpoint protection, and keep up with the changing mobile threat landscape.
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