Networking Issues for Security and Privacy in Mobile Health Apps

Abstract

It is highly important to give social care on the personal information that is collected by mobile health applications. There has been a rise in the mobile applications which are applied in almost all the departments and this is as a result of the high technological advancement globally. The developers of these applications need to be somehow reluctant in maintaining the privacy of information collected through the applications because many release insecure apps. The aim of this report is to analyze the status of privacy and security in relation to mobile health. The analysis or the review has been done through academic literature review, a study of the laws which regulate mobile health in the EU and USA. Also, lastly, giving a recommendation for the mobile application developers, on how to maintain privacy and security. As a result, other certifications and standards will be proposed for app developers and another guide for the researchers and developers as well.

Challenges With Developing Secure Mobile Health Applications: Systematic Review

“…Due to business pressures (eg, rushing to market), delivering an app on time tends to be the main aim mHealth apps developers try to satisfy for customers and avoid extra costs. High workload and tight timeframes require mHealth app developers to put more effort in meeting functional requirements as a primary task (S18 [ 46 ], S26 [ 40 ], S32 [ 4 ]). It also affects their attitude and behavior towards addressing security (eg, underestimating risks, assuming attackers will not realize the weaknesses) and dealing with security after releasing an app [ 61 ].…”

“…Table 2 illustrates the identified challenges, the key points that led us to consider them from the reviewed studies, and the frequency of each challenge. (63) Lack of security guidelines, regulations, direct laws about the security requirements, secure designing, security testing, security features that need to be employed in mHealth apps (S4 [32], S5 [17], S6 [34], S7 [35], S10 [36], S12 [9], S13 [37], S15 [38], S16 [19], S20 [39], S22 [20], S23 [1], S26 [40], S29 [41], S31 [42]); lack of framework or standards (eg, standardized policies and methodologies to ensure the security standards are met) for developing secure mHealth apps (S2 [43], S3 [12], S29 [41], S31 [42]); lack of compliance with the available guidance and/or standard (S25 [44], S29 [41]); challenges for the developers to deal with legal obligations, policies, and procedures (S32 [4]) C1. Lack of security guidelines and regulations for developing secure mHealth apps 18 (56) Insufficient knowledge of software developers about the security risks of mHealth apps (S12 [9], S17 [45], S18 [46], S27 [47]); lack of developers' security awareness (eg, towards the potential threats of mHealth apps; S3 [12], S9 [11], S14 [18], S21 [15], S28 [48], S32 [4]); developers' lack of knowledge towards secure coding practices, using secure APIs a , and utilizing up-to-date libraries (S18 [46]) or secure third-party services by mHealth app developers that could misuse users' health data (S1…”

“…No or little attention by developers towards the security of mHealth apps 4 (13) No/low budget assigned for employing security measures (S32 [4]); unavailability of security tools (S32 [4]); developers lack training about developing secure mHealth apps (S4 [32], S5 [17]); lack of research and development efforts to facilitate developing secure mHealth apps (S14 [18]) C5. Lack of financial resources for developing secure mHealth apps 4 (13%) Rushing to market, which leaves vulnerabilities in mHealth apps (S18 [46], S26 [40], S32 [4]); the long process of gaining consent or approving the development choices of the developers (S7 [35]) C6. Time constraints during mHealth app development process 4 (13) Lack of security testing (S32 [4]); lack of proper security testing (eg, vulnerability scan) for mHealth apps (S6 [34], S18 [46], S23 [1]) C7.…”

Security and Privacy for mHealth and uHealth Systems: A Systematic Mapping Study

“…Some researchers have also defined a criteria for assessing and comparing mHealth apps, providing a security and privacy "score" in order to better communicate the potential risks of such systems to its end-users [38]. Some systematic reviews have focused on privacy and usability issues in mHealth systems [40] or networking issues for security and privacy of mHealth apps [41]. However, these studies are restricted to the investigation of mHealth apps developed for tablets and smartphones and Body Sensor Networks (BSNs).…”

Methods of Stealing Personal Data on Android using a Remote Administration Tool with Social Engineering Techniques

“…No matter how strong an android's security system is, it can still be penetrated if the user is still easy to manipulate, especially using social engineering methods. Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to access private information or valuable data [7][8][9]. In the world of cybercrime, this type of human hacking scam can lure unsuspecting users.…”