A manual, methodology-led security assessment of your iOS and Android applications. We identify exploitable vulnerabilities across the mobile client, its network communication, on-device data handling, and resilience to reverse engineering and tampering, with findings aligned to global standards and Hong Kong regulatory expectations.
Mobile applications carry authentication, payments, and customer data directly to personal devices at scale, widening your attack surface well beyond the perimeter you control.
A mobile application penetration test simulates realistic attack scenarios against your iOS and Android applications, combining automated static and dynamic analysis tooling with extensive manual testing techniques. The assessment spans the application as it runs on the device, its communication channels, its handling of sensitive data on-device, and its resilience to reverse engineering and tampering, uncovering weaknesses that scanners alone cannot detect.
Mobile introduces a fundamentally different threat model from the web. When your app reaches a user's phone, it also reaches every attacker's phone: the compiled code, stored data, and client-side logic can all be examined, modified, and repackaged by anyone who downloads it. Our consultants assess your application with that reality in mind: from anonymous external users, across authenticated user roles, and under the assumption that the attacker controls the device.
Each engagement concludes with a detailed report containing prioritised findings, proof-of-concept evidence, business impact analysis, and clear remediation guidance suitable for both engineering teams and executive stakeholders.
We combine elite offensive cybersecurity expertise with institutional backing to deliver penetration testing that actually drives business resilience.
Our consultants bring deep offensive cybersecurity experience from top-tier global consulting firms, backed by the industry's most rigorous certifications including eMAPT, eCPTX, OSWE, OSEP, OSCP, and HTB CPTS. We bring world-class execution to every mobile application penetration testing engagement.
No junior bait-and-switch and no offshore hand-offs. The senior consultants who scope your engagement are the ones executing the test, walking you through findings, and validating your remediation. You get the same expert from kickoff through closure.
Penetration testing requires absolute trust, you are granting access to your most sensitive systems. We are proudly supported by the HKSTP Incubation Programme and the CityU HK Tech 300 Seed Fund, making us a vetted Hong Kong cybersecurity partner with institutional accountability.
We don't deliver 200-page scanner reports. Every penetration testing engagement produces prioritised findings, attack-path narratives, proof-of-concept evidence, and remediation guidance, translated for both your engineers and your board.
Clients engage us when assurance has to be independent, findings have to be actionable, and the outcome has to hold up to auditors, regulators, app-store reviewers, customers, and the board.
Teams preparing to release a new mobile application and requiring assurance before public exposure via the App Store, Google Play, or enterprise distribution.
Organisations preparing for PCI DSS, PCI MPoC, ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2, HKMA C-RAF, or SFC cybersecurity examinations that require independent testing evidence.
Organisations re-validating security posture following a reported incident, control failure, or significant architectural change.
Mature security programmes with annual or bi-annual testing obligations to internal risk committees, customers, or regulators.
Engineering and security teams seeking third-party verification following internal testing, bug bounty programmes, or remediation cycles.
Acquirers and investors evaluating the security posture of target organisations' customer-facing mobile applications prior to transaction close.
Every engagement is scoped collaboratively to ensure testing objectives align with business priorities, risk appetite, and regulatory context.
Coverage is structured around the OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS), the OWASP Mobile Application Security Testing Guide (MASTG), and the OWASP Mobile Top 10. The domains below highlight our core focus areas, but our complete coverage extends far beyond them.
Static and dynamic analysis of the compiled application, including decompilation, runtime behaviour inspection, identification of embedded libraries and SDKs, and review of configuration artefacts, debug symbols, and log output for information leakage.
Review of on-device data handling including databases, Keychain, Keystore, shared preferences, caches, and logs. Testing for sensitive data exposure through backgrounding snapshots, clipboard, screenshots, auto-backup, and shared-storage leakage.
Assessment of cryptographic primitives and modes, random number generation, key derivation and storage, and handling of API keys, tokens, certificates, and credentials embedded within or generated by the application.
Testing of registration, login, and account recovery flows, multi-factor and biometric integration, session token generation and storage, and credential transmission across multiple user roles and privilege boundaries.
Evaluation of transport-layer security, certificate validation and pinning, custom cryptographic protocols, and resistance to traffic interception, downgrade, and man-in-the-middle attacks under realistic network conditions.
Testing of custom URL schemes, universal links, Android intents and App Links, exported components, content providers, WebView configuration, and other inter-process communication surfaces through which untrusted input may enter the application.
Multi-stage workflow abuse, feature-level logic flaws, race conditions, and tests for whether security decisions made on the client can be bypassed by a modified, repackaged, or replayed client instance.
Evaluation of runtime integrity and anti-tamper defences, including anti-debugging, obfuscation, root and jailbreak detection, and repackaging resistance, assessed under the assumption that the attacker has full control of the device.
A structured, repeatable methodology that delivers consistent quality, with clear entry and exit criteria at each phase and defined responsibilities on both sides.
Define target platforms (iOS, Android, or both), build variants, test account provisioning, device requirements, communication protocols, and rules of engagement. Gather documentation, confirm authority to test, and agree on the delivery model.
Combined static analysis (decompilation and binary review) and dynamic analysis (runtime instrumentation, traffic interception, platform-interaction testing). Critical issues are escalated in real time and all findings are manually verified.
A detailed technical report with executive summary, risk-rated findings, business impact analysis, proof-of-concept evidence, and prioritised remediation recommendations.
A structured walk-through of the findings with your technical team, covering issue context, exploitation impact, and remediation guidance. Support for clarification during fix implementation.
Retesting of remediated findings against an updated build to confirm fixes are effective, followed by an updated risk posture and formal engagement closure. Deliverables are packaged for internal follow-up, audit, and regulatory evidence.
Every engagement produces a comprehensive report designed to serve both technical remediation and executive decision-making.
A non-technical overview of the assessment, key findings, business impact, and recommended priorities, written for leadership, risk, and board-level stakeholders.
Each finding documented with technical description, affected components, exploitation steps, observed impact, and references to relevant standards.
Findings are rated using the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) and the OWASP Risk Rating Methodology, combined with business-context adjustments to reflect realistic risk to your organisation.
Screenshots, intercepted request/response captures, decompiled code excerpts, runtime instrumentation output, and where relevant, compiled proof-of-concept builds that demonstrate each critical and high-severity issue without ambiguity.
Clear, prioritised recommendations mapped to each finding, including short-term containment and longer-term architectural improvements where applicable.
Every finding is mapped to OWASP, CWE, and where relevant, to regulatory frameworks. This supports audit, compliance evidence, and internal knowledge transfer.
Our methodology is built on internationally recognised mobile testing standards and mapped to the compliance frameworks most relevant to Hong Kong-regulated organisations.
A mobile application penetration test covers the same server-side and business-logic concerns a web pentest does, plus a significant client-side surface that web testing does not. That includes the compiled application itself, its local data storage, the platform features it interacts with (URL schemes, intents, IPC, WebViews), cryptographic key handling on the device, and the application's resilience when it runs on a device fully controlled by the attacker. The methodology, tooling, and balance between static and dynamic analysis all shift accordingly.
We test both native iOS and native Android applications. Scope can be one platform or both, as required. Where an application is available on both platforms, we recommend testing both: platform-specific findings are not always transferable, each ecosystem has its own storage, cryptography, and IPC primitives, and severity and remediation often differ between the two.
We regularly assess applications built on React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Cordova, and other cross-platform frameworks. Each framework introduces its own binary format and decompilation path, and our methodology accounts for that. The client-side threat model and coverage we apply remain consistent across native and hybrid applications.
We can perform a complete assessment from the store-distributed build (IPA / APK) alone, which is our default black-box posture. Source code and architectural documentation are not required, but when available they increase the depth and efficiency of the engagement, particularly for business-logic and configuration-heavy findings. The engagement mode is agreed with you during scoping.
We recommend the mode based on your objectives, available documentation, and coverage expectations. Black-box mirrors an external attacker with no prior knowledge, which is realistic but time-constrained. Grey-box provides limited credentials and balances realism with efficiency, and is the most common choice for authenticated applications. White-box offers signed debug builds, test credentials, full architecture, and source code where available, to maximise depth and coverage. This mode is ideal for pre-launch assessments and high-assurance environments.
All engagements are led by senior offensive security consultants. We do not assign junior operators or outsource execution to third parties. Our consultants hold recognised industry certifications across offensive security and red teaming, including credentials such as OSCE³, OSEP, OSWE, OSCP, eMAPT, HTB CPTS, HTB CWEE, CRTO, and CRTP. Every assessment is reviewed by a senior lead before delivery, ensuring consistent technical depth and reporting quality regardless of which consultant is assigned.
Duration depends on the platforms in scope, application complexity, the number of authenticated roles, and the engagement mode. As a general guide, a focused mobile application on a single platform in grey-box mode typically runs 6 to 10 business days of active testing, plus 3 to 5 days for reporting and review. Dual-platform engagements, highly hardened applications, or full white-box assessments can extend further. An accurate estimate is provided during the scoping call based on your specific application and objectives.
Most engagements kick off within 1 to 2 weeks of scoping sign-off, subject to consultant availability and the agreed testing window. Where a regulatory deadline, app-store review window, or pre-launch milestone requires a faster start, we will do our best to accommodate and confirm feasibility during the scoping call.
Testing is designed to be non-disruptive. Before execution, we agree on the testing window, excluded actions (e.g. denial-of-service, destructive payloads against live data), and real-time escalation protocols. Where a dedicated test build and test accounts can be provided, testing runs in isolation with no impact on live users. Where testing must be conducted against a live application or live data, we coordinate higher-risk techniques in advance and maintain a dedicated communication channel throughout the engagement. Where you operate a SOC, SIEM, or active monitoring tooling, we share testing source IPs, timing, and signatures in advance so your security team can suppress or contextualise the resulting alerts rather than triaging them as live incidents.
Any sensitive data encountered is handled under strict confidentiality. We do not extract, retain, or reproduce sensitive data beyond what is strictly necessary to evidence a finding, and where possible, data is anonymised in the final report. Credentials provided by you for authenticated testing are held in access-controlled secrets management throughout the engagement, used only for the agreed scope and duration, and confirmed destroyed in writing after engagement closure. All engagement artefacts, including application binaries, runtime captures, and decompiled material, are stored in access-controlled environments, transmitted over encrypted channels, and securely destroyed after the agreed retention period.
Yes. A complimentary retest is included with every engagement. After you have applied remediation and provided an updated build, we re-examine each confirmed finding to verify that fixes are effective and that no regressions have been introduced, and issue an updated report reflecting closure status for each item. The retesting window is agreed with you during scoping to align with your remediation plan.
Yes. On request, we issue a formal Letter of Attestation summarising the engagement scope, testing period, methodology followed, and high-level outcome. The attestation is suitable for audit, regulatory submission, and third-party assurance purposes, including PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, and HKMA-related obligations.
Schedule a scoping call with our specialists to define the right engagement model for your applications, regulatory context, and timeline. We will walk you through methodology, deliverables, and next steps.