In the current landscape of application security, client-side protection has become increasingly vital. Why? Because threat actors have shifted their focus to reverse-engineering the client side of (web/mobile/desktop) apps — apps to which they have free and unfettered access. Traditional server-side defenses cannot safeguard sensitive data, IP, and code that “lives” in client-side apps.
In-app security, also known as application hardening, addresses this gap by implementing robust measures directly within the application. Application hardening includes techniques such as code obfuscation to make reverse engineering efforts more difficult anti-tamper mechanisms to detect and dynamic analysis as well as unauthorized modifications, threat monitoring to provide real-time insights into security breaches, and Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP) to enable applications to autonomously defend against active threats.
Together, these measures form a defense strategy that enhances the security posture of client-side applications, ensuring they remain resilient against evolving cyber threats. While Open Source and “cut rate” Application Hardening solutions exist – and are better than no security at all – they leave yawning gaps in your client-side security posture and are best avoided.
