How to Play Encrypted Media with AVPlayer on iOS Devices
Learn to Encrypt Secured media files in iOS apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.
Why does AVPlayer Fail to Play Protected Media Files?
iOS MediaPlayer runs on a separate process from the application. When Appdome TOTALDataTM Encryption is enabled, all stored data generated by the app is encrypted at runtime by using industry-standard AES 256 encryption (including media files). This means that when MediaPlayer attempts to read the encrypted media files, it will fail to decrypt the files because it does not have the private key. While in principle the app developer can re-write the code to work with use other methods than AVURLAsset/ file:// URL and make the code “aware” of the application’s encryption, this a technically challenging approach and in most cases, the application architecture does not allow using Content Providers. In other cases, the developer might not have access to the mobile app’s source code.
How does Appdome Enable Playing Protected Media Files ?
Appdome Smart Media Sharing enables capturing initial access to an encrypted media file by the application and replacing it with a temporary one-time file path. This ensures that the media player can securely access unencrypted data. This feature applies secure media files and content handoff to external and embedded media players. This secured handoff is completed on-demand and while the data is in transit.
Smart Media Sharing allows you to use standard POSIX file I/O, without any extra development effort, as an extension of Appdome TOTALDataTM Encryption. When building the app on Appdome, the developers can add a wide variety of features, SDKs, and APIs to Android and iOS apps and can choose any architecture and file I/O API.
Prerequisites for Using Smart Media Sharing:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Encrypt Secured media files , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Smart Media Sharing
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
Encrypt Secured media files on iOS apps using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Encrypt Secured media files without an SDK or gateway:
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Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.
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Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System
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Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
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iOS Formats: .ipa
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Smart Media Sharing Compatible With: Obj-C, Java, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and more
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Build the feature: Smart Media Sharing.
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Building Smart Media Sharing by using Appdome’s DEV-API:
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Smart Media Sharing feature as shown below:
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Smart Media Sharing feature via Appdome Console, to add the Smart Media Sharing feature to this Fusion Set.
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Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
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Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Smart Media Sharing feature
Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required). -
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Building the Smart Media Sharing feature via Appdome Console
To build the Smart Media Sharing protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.
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Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > TOTALData™ Encryption section.
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How: Check whether is toggled On (enabled), otherwise enable it . The feature Smart Media Sharing is enabled by default, as shown below. Toggle (turn ON) Smart Media Sharing, as shown below.
If needed, Customize the Threat Notification to be displayed to the mobile end-user in a standard OS dialog notification when Appdome Encrypts Secured media files.Figure 3: Encrypt Secured media files option
Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging. -
When you select the Smart Media Sharing you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Smart Media Sharing
Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Smart Media Sharing protection
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Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
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Congratulations! The Smart Media Sharing protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Smart Media Sharing feature in iOS Apps
After building Smart Media Sharing, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Smart Media Sharing protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Smart Media Sharing protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Smart Media Sharing has been added to each iOS app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Smart Media Sharing and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app
Using Threat-Events™ for Secured media files Intelligence and Control in iOS Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Secured media files is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Secured media files in iOS Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Secured media files shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Secured media files are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Encrypt Secured media files Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Smart Media Sharing |
Threat-Event Mode | |
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | x |
Visible in ThreatScope™ | x |
Developer Parameters for Encrypting Secured media files Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | |
Threat-Event SCORE | |
currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
Threat-Event Context Keys | |
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message | Message displayed for the user on event |
failSafeEnforce | Timed enforcement against the identified threat |
externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
osVersion | OS version of the current device |
deviceModel | Current device model |
deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
updatedOSVersion | Is the OS version up to date |
timeZone | Time zone |
deviceFaceDown | Is the device face down |
locationLong | Location longitude conditioned by location permission |
locationLat | Location latitude conditioned by location permission |
locationState | Location state conditioned by location permission |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), iOS developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in iOS applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Secured media files is detected.
The following is a code sample for native iOS apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Smart Media Sharing:
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name(""), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
return
}
let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"]; // Current threat event score
let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"]; // Total threat events score
let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"]; // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) {
__block NSNotification *note = org_note;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {
NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"]; // Message shown to the user
NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"]; // Current threat event score
NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"]; // Total threat events score
NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"]; // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
}];
const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;
const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);
function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) {
NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action);
aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);
}
export function registerToAllEvents() {
registerToDevEvent(
"",
(userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo))
var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"] // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"] // Total threat events score
var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"] // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
);
}
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter(""));
class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
{
public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Current threat event score
String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Total threat events score
String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver(
(NSString)"", // Threat-Event Identifier
delegate (NSNotification notification)
{
var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message"); // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore"); // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore"); // Total threat events score
var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>"); // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
window.broadcaster.addEventListener("", function(userInfo) {
var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore // Total threat events score
var variable = userInfo.<Context Key> // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
xxxxxxxxxx
import 'dart:async';
​
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
​
class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget {
const PlatformChannel({super.key});
​
State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();
}
​
class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> {
static const String _eventChannelName = ''; // Replace with your EventChannel name
static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName);
​
void initState() {
super.initState();
_eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError);
}
​
void _onEvent(Object? event) {
setState(() {
// Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure
var eventData = event as Map;
​
// Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event
var externalID = eventData['externalID'];
​
// Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure
String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code
String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore']; // Current threat event score
String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore']; // Total threat events score
​
// Any other event specific context key
String variable = eventData['<Context Key>'];
});
}
​
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Smart Media Sharing. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Smart Media Sharing
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
Check out Appdome’s Mobile App Security Suite or request a demo at any time.
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.