The IT Nerd

Guardsquare will present at NAB Show Las Vegas on Monday, April 20, in the Tech Chat Theater at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In a session titled “When Your Streaming App Is the Attack Surface: Stopping Piracy at the Source,” Guardsquare will examine how attackers increasingly target mobile streaming applications to bypass traditional content protection controls.

WHAT: Guardsquare Tech Chat Session at NAB Show Las Vegas
WHEN: Monday, April 20, 2026 | 2:00 – 2:30 PM
WHERE: Tech Chat Theater (W1242), West Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center

Streaming platforms have invested heavily in DRM, watermarking, and backend protections to safeguard premium content. Yet piracy and revenue abuse continue to grow, often without attackers ever touching the video stream itself. Instead, attackers increasingly target the mobile app through repackaged binaries, modified playback logic, credential harvesting, and direct API abuse.

During this Tech Chat session, Amanda Sutliff, Director of Product Marketing at Guardsquare, will explore how attackers manipulate client-side applications to bypass traditional protections and how media and streaming providers can close this gap by protecting app integrity, detecting runtime abuse, and validating trust before content is delivered.

“Streaming providers have invested heavily in protecting the stream, but attackers increasingly exploit the mobile app itself,” said Sutliff. “By protecting app integrity and detecting tampering at runtime, streaming platforms can stop piracy earlier in the attack chain while preserving the viewer experience.”

In addition to the presentation, Guardsquare will be exhibiting at Booth #W1459 during NAB Show 2026. For more information about the event, visit https://www.nabshow.com/las-vegas/.

 Guardsquare, the leading provider of mobile application security, today released its analysis of new independent research conducted by TrendCandy, revealing a widening “client-side trust gap” that is leaving organizations exposed to mobile app security incidents, customer churn, and backend API abuse.

The global survey of 1,360 mobile app developers and security leaders found that 72% of organizations experienced at least one mobile app security incident in the past year, and 65% reported customer churn or app uninstalls as a direct result of security issues. Despite these impacts, many organizations continue to rely on outdated, OS-level security assumptions that fail to protect mobile apps operating “in the wild.”

Speed Pressure and AI Are Compounding Risk

The analysis highlights how development velocity and AI adoption are accelerating mobile app risk:

• 79% of respondents cite time-to-market pressure as the top barrier to stronger mobile app protection, reinforcing persistent misconceptions that security slows development.
• 96% of developers report using AI-assisted tools to build mobile apps and SDKs.
• 81% say AI-generated code has introduced new vulnerabilities.
• More than half of developers report uncertainty around how to properly secure AI-written mobile applications.

From Tradeoffs to a New Mobile Security Standard

The research points to a clear shift in how organizations are approaching mobile security:

• 91% of respondents prefer security that spans the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• 96% of organizations using multi-layered protection report fewer mobile app security incidents.

Guardsquare’s analysis concludes that closing the client-side trust gap requires integrated mobile app security that combines automated testing, multi-layered code protection, runtime defenses, mobile API security, and continuous threat monitoring, all without compromising development speed or app performance.

Guardsquare’s full analysis and recommendations are available in the ebook, Gaining Ground on Mobile DevSecOps, available for download at: https://www.guardsquare.com/gaining-ground-on-mobile-devsecops

About the Research
The research, The Rise of Client-Side Risk and the Trust Gap, was conducted by the independent firm TrendCandy and commissioned by Guardsquare. It surveyed 1,360 mobile app developers and security leaders globally, with a margin of error of ±2% at the 95% confidence level.

Guardsquare today announced it has completed the acquisition of the Extended Threat Defense (XTD) technology and assets from Verimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX), further advancing its mobile app security platform for mobile developers and enterprises worldwide. The deal marks a significant milestone for the company, reinforcing its commitment to delivering the highest level of mobile application security without compromise.

Verimatrix’s XTD technology predicts, detects, and responds to threats before mobile apps are exploited. Guardsquare’s acquisition of XTD reinforces its commitment to delivering the most comprehensive mobile application security. This approach reflects the growing urgency organizations face in securing mobile applications. According to Verizon, 85% of organizations are experiencing a surge in mobile attacks, and 43% cite mobile app threats as the top contributor to breaches.

The acquisition also strengthens Guardsquare’s global presence, enabling the company to meet customers where they are while further diversifying its reach across key industries such as financial services and healthcare. Furthermore, the move adds a new wave of dedicated engineers and security personnel from the XTD team, whose expertise will be instrumental in accelerating the evolution of the Guardsquare platform.

Guardsquare is committed to ensuring seamless continuity for existing XTD customers, with no disruption to current services, support, or product operations. Customers will continue to receive the same high standard of support they expect today as XTD technology becomes part of the Guardsquare platform. The company will also continue to work closely with the existing XTD partner ecosystem, as partners continue to sell and support customers as they do today.

For more information on the XTD technology, visit www.protectmyapp.com.

 Guardsquare, the leading provider of mobile application security products, is highlighting new findings from a study conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group, which reveal how widespread overconfidence in mobile app security is driving a fundamental shift in organizational priorities. While 93% of organizations believe their current protections are sufficient, the reality that 62% suffered mobile app breaches in the past year—averaging nine incidents each—is driving a move toward more proactive, comprehensive security strategies that balance development speed with robust protection.

The pressure to accelerate release cycles compounds this blind spot, with 71% of organizations admitting speed has compromised mobile app security.     

The report’s key findings expose the critical vulnerabilities organizations leave unaddressed:

• Low adoption of proactive defenses: Almost 70% of organizations don’t use obfuscation to protect their mobile apps, and 60% lack Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP), leaving their apps vulnerable to both static and dynamic analysis.
• iOS apps are not immune: Challenging a long-held industry myth, more than 70% of organizations believe that iOS apps pose a moderate or higher level security risk.
• Consequences extend beyond the balance sheet: The impacts of security incidents extend beyond the average reported cost. More than half of respondents (54%) reported application downtime, 48% experienced data leakage, and 41% suffered a loss of consumer trust.
   

The full report, “From Overconfident to Proactive: Why Mobile App Security is Primed for a Cultural Shift,” is available for download at:
https://www.guardsquare.com/report/overconfidence-exposes-mobile-app-security-gaps

Guardsquare, the leading provider of mobile application security products, today unveiled the compelling results of an Enterprise Strategy Group study, “Mobile Application Security Cannot Be an Afterthought,” highlighting a critical misalignment between the perception and reality of mobile apps. While 93% of organizations believe their mobile app protections are sufficient to prevent attacks, the survey revealed that a substantial 62% of organizations faced at least one mobile app security incident in the past year. On average, organizations are reporting nine incidents per year.

The independent study, conducted by the Enterprise Strategy Group, surveyed more than 300 decision-makers from the application development, cybersecurity, and IT sectors worldwide. The research highlights the urgency of addressing the mobile app security perception gap, as the financial toll from these incidents continues to escalate. Survey results found the average cost of mobile app security breaches has reached $6.99 million in 2025.

Other Key Insights:

• The impact goes beyond the balance sheet: The repercussions of mobile security lapses extend far beyond financial losses. Organizations reported application downtime (in more than 50% of cases), sensitive data leaks (48%), erosion of consumer trust (41%), and a diminished user experience (38%).
• With the right mobile app protection in place, faster release cycles become a strength, not a risk: The average number of unique mobile applications released annually has jumped from 10 in 2023 to 13 in 2025. Yet a noteworthy 74% of organizations noted feeling increased pressure to accelerate their development cycles, with 71% conceding that this push for speed has come at the expense of robust mobile app security measures.
• Significant gaps in security strategies: Nearly 40% of organizations rely solely on security measures built in-house or those included in operating systems. Only 31% employ code obfuscation techniques, leaving many mobile apps open to static analysis. Besides, 60% of organizations have not implemented Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP).

The Multi-layered Security Imperative
The study highlights the need for a comprehensive security strategy. Such a strategy should encompass robust code hardening and obfuscation, proactive runtime application self-protection, rigorous mobile application security testing, and continuous threat monitoring. While a reasonable 63% of organizations are engaged in mobile application security testing and nearly 60% are utilizing threat monitoring, the study revealed that substantial weaknesses persist in other vital areas of defense.

New Priorities in Mobile App Security
The study also identified evolving priorities for organizations. Notable ones include:

• Rising legal repercussions from mobile app breaches: 31% of organizations are already facing legal consequences stemming from a mobile app security breach.
• Increased budget allocations: 84% of organizations plan to increase their financial commitment to mobile app security.
• Tighter integration of security into development: 46% are prioritizing the integration of security measures directly into the tools, processes, and workflows used by their development teams.

To read or download the report, please click this Link.

Methodology
The research was conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) between January 8 and January 30, 2025. The survey included 315 qualified respondents from the United States (37%), the United Kingdom (32%), Brazil (16%), and Singapore (16%). Respondents were application development/software engineering (51%), cybersecurity (39%), and IT (9%) decision-makers influential in the purchase process for mobile application security technologies. Organizations represented both midmarket (250 to 999 employees, 31%) and enterprise (1,000+ employees, 69%) segments across multiple industries.

Guardsquare, the mobile application security provider, today announced that the company’s award-winning Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST) product, AppSweep, is now available for iOS. Built for developers and mobile application-specific, AppSweep allows users to scan Android and iOS apps to identify security risks. 

Security findings include actionable recommendations developers can leverage to fix the identified security issues ensuring AppSweep users quickly uncover and can solve security issues in mobile app code and dependencies. Free to use with no restrictions, AppSweep is now available for both iOS and Android.

With the ever-growing reliance on mobile apps across all verticals, organizations must prioritize the security of their mobile applications to ensure customer trust and brand loyalty, protect valuable IP, achieve compliance, and prevent loss of revenue. Yet only a third of those involved in mobile app development use a MAST tool, which can lead to insecure mobile apps and detrimental effects on organizations left vulnerable to risks. 

With the introduction of AppSweep for iOS, Guardsquare ensures that regardless of the operating system, organizations can safeguard their mobile apps and protect their users’ sensitive data. AppSweep helps development teams efficiently and effectively meet security needs in an actionable manner.

For more information about AppSweep for iOS and Android, visit https://www.guardsquare.com/appsweep-mobile-application-security-testing. 

Guardsquare, the mobile application security provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Redbelt Security, a consultancy firm specializing in information and cyber security. The partnership enables Redbelt to expand its solution offerings as a reseller with Guardsquare’s multi-platform mobile app security products.

As a resale partner, Redbelt broadens its solution stack to include multilayer protections delivering the most comprehensive mobile application security. Guardsquare’s products incorporate the broadest spectrum of mobile app security capabilities, including protection, testing, and real-time threat monitoring. The partnership augments Redbelt’s portfolio of advanced protection solutions so customers can optimize their security posture and protect their mobile applications from external threats.

With this partnership, customers have access to Guardsquare’s market-leading mobile application protection and real-time threat monitoring products in combination with Redbelt’s local market knowledge and expertise. With the company’s advanced solutions for protecting mobile applications, iXGuard for iOS and DexGuard for Android, app development and security teams benefit from robust, multi-layered protection of their apps to prevent reverse engineering and tampering and protect their valuable IP, sensitive data, revenue and brand reputation. Guardsquare’s real-time threat monitoring product, ThreatCast, helps developers and security teams continuously monitor their apps.

To learn more about Guardsquare’s mobile application security solutions, please visit https://www.guardsquare.com/.