Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

May 10, 2017 3523 Views Joseph Sewell

This week, all eyes of the software community will be fixed on Microsoft's Build conference. Microsoft and its partners are set to announce new technologies and lay out their vision for the future of software development. Recent years have seen the narrative take a decidedly cross-platform approach. Visual Studio Code gives developers tools to create what they want no matter their OS of choice. .NET Core extends the reach of the popular .NET Framework to Mac and Linux. Finally, Xamarin, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016, lets app developers write their app once, then publish it for Android, iOS, and Windows devices.

As a Visual Studio 2017 Premier Launch Partner, PreEmptive Solutions is pleased to announce, as part of Microsoft Build 2017, a new way to integrate Dotfuscator's protection into Xamarin apps. This new Dotfuscator-Xamarin integration has a number of advantages:

Easy setup - Developers just download an MSBuild targets file and import it into their projects with a few simple property changes. No more need to define custom targets or copy files as a post-build step!
Deep pipeline integration - The new integration automatically puts Dotfuscator into the Xamarin build pipeline, protecting apps as they're built in Visual Studio or MSBuild. Developers don't have to worry about forgetting the protection step, since it's now included as part of the build.
Incremental builds - Don't waste time reapplying Dotfuscator's protection when your project hasn't changed. The integration is smart enough to know when a build is necessary, and when it can be skipped.
Automatic configuration - Get up and running quickly: the integration creates a Dotfuscator config file automatically, with sensible defaults for the project. Instructions are provided for further configuration, including a case study of how to discover which additional identifiers (if any) need to be excluded from renaming obfuscation.
Detailed instructions - We've detailed how to use the integration with a well-known Xamarin.Forms sample. Developers can see the practical application of these instructions through an included git repo, which walks through the process step-by-step.
All major project types supported - The integration supports projects targeting Android, iOS, and Universal Windows (UWP).
Proven protection strategy - The app is protected by Dotfuscator, the industry standard .NET obfuscation and protection tool.
Free to start - The integration works not only with the commercial Dotfuscator Professional Edition, but also with Dotfuscator Community Edition (CE), which is included with Visual Studio. Developers can use the integration to quickly discover the capabilities of Dotfuscator's protection.

To get started, see Integrating Dotfuscator's Protection into Your Xamarin Apps in Visual Studio. There you can read the step-by-step instructions, as well as download the necessary MSBuild targets file.

We plan to keep introducing features like this, to make the protection process easier and more accurate, for Xamarin and all other kinds of apps. Stay up-to-date with the latest Dotfuscator features by visiting the Dotfuscator Downloads page. For announcements and other information, keep an eye on our blog and follow our Twitter account, @PreEmptive.

Effectively Implementing App Protection

Development’s Journey to Effectively Implementing App Protection

Because data is created, accessed, and changed through applications, hardening and shielding your applications is a key component to protecting your data. Adding application protection to your secure software development lifecycle will make it more difficult for people and machines to exploit them. But, what are the factors to consider when thinking about application risk? Effective application risk management is a sustained, consistent practice and technology selection and implementation is a specialized discipline within that practice. The initial steps below offer a roadmap to selecting and implementing application hardening and shielding as a part of a broader application risk management program.

The full Infographic in pdf form is available here.

Does app have intellectual property?

Does app gate access to value?

Does app access private information?

Is the app subject to regulation?

Does app run in an untrusted environment?

“Software is eating the world.” The now-famous quote by technology expert Marc Andreessen was relevant in 2011 but seems downright prophetic in 2018 — the rise of web-based, mobile and IoT applications have created a market both massive and ever-changing. Companies know that simply staying competitive requires cutting-edge apps that both streamline the user experience and provide a steady flow of actionable data. But malicious actors also recognize the value of applications — and will do anything they can to compromise, infiltrate or damage business app networks.

It gets worse: According to the Center for Internet Security, “malspam” threats — unsolicited emails that contain malicious links or attachments — remain the number one attack vector for cybercriminals. Why? Because despite their simplicity, these attacks succeed. As noted by SC Magazine, meanwhile, 80 percent of IoT applications still aren’t tested for security vulnerabilities.

I just read the Forrester Wave™: Governance, Risk, And Compliance Platforms, Q1 2018.

Forrester reminds us all that “Risk and compliance management is more important than ever, thanks to the increasingly intangible nature of business value and the growing risk of violating customer trust.”

IT security is a hot topic, and no wonder — major healthcare, finance and government breaches have all made headlines in recent months prompting both federal agencies and compliance organizations to draft new security standards. As noted by Tech Target, regulations under Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI-DSS and HIPAA all lay out clear expectations for companies when it comes to protecting network assets, personal data and critical infrastructure.

Software, meanwhile, has historically escaped the reach of these regulations, largely thanks to the rapid uptake of mobile and web-based applications: The sheer number and type of cloud-enabled offerings and now IoT-connected software made it difficult for governing bodies and compliance agencies to define meaningful standards that improved overall security. But, just as cloud computing went through a “wild west” period of rapid expansion followed by increasing scrutiny and regulation, software and application development is now on the receiving end of emerging security regulations.

Preventing Privilege Escalation in mobile payment apps (PCI Mobile Payment Acceptance Security Guidelines Section 4.3)

Regulators, standards bodies and IT auditors have become increasingly likely to recommend an absolute prohibition of rooted Android devices in production environments. As the 2017 PCI Mobile Payment Acceptance Security Guidelines state, “Bypassing permissions can allow untrusted security decisions to be made, thus increasing the number of possible attack vectors.”

It is only natural that the apps themselves rise up to act as a ubiquitous governance, risk, and compliance management layer – preventing, detecting, responding, and reporting on threats - including those posed by unauthorized rooted devices.

Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

Effectively Implementing App Protection

Development’s Journey to Effectively Implementing App Protection

Technology Trust Issues When Running in Untrusted Environments? Try Application Shielding

Managing Risk is More Important Now Than Ever

Emerging App Security Regulations: Are You Compliant?

An app hardening use case: Filling the PCI prescription for preventing privilege escalation in mobile apps

Preventing Privilege Escalation in mobile payment apps (PCI Mobile Payment Acceptance Security Guidelines Section 4.3)

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Effectively Implementing App Protection

Technology Trust Issues When Running in Untrusted Environments? Try Application Shielding

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An app hardening use case: Filling the PCI prescription for preventing privilege escalation in mobile apps

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Automating Xamarin Protection with Dotfuscator

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Preventing Privilege Escalation in mobile payment apps (PCI Mobile Payment Acceptance Security Guidelines Section 4.3)

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