Store Encrypted Secrets in Protected Memory of Android & iOS apps

Last updated October 18, 2023 by Appdome

Learn to Use Store in Protected Memory in Mobile apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

Why Store Encrypted Secrets in Android & iOS Memory?

Despite the protections provided by iOS and Android sandboxing, application memory is not always secure. There are various scenarios where memory can be exposed:

  • Specialized kernels that remove memory protection
  • In rooted mobile devices:
    • (iOS) Users can use the function vm_read to view the app memory.
    • (Android) Users can view the app memory files under /proc/<pid>/mem
  • Zero-day attacks
  • Malicious dynamic reverse-engineering and debugging attempts on the app.

To counter these threats, Appdome covers most of these scenarios with features like Jailbreak and Root Detection and Anti-Debugging protection. Moreover, the Store in Protected Memory solution was developed by Appdome to ensure complete protection and hardening of mobile app data and secrets.

What is Appdome's Approach to Encrypted Memory Storage?

Appdome stores sensitive data (secrets) and encrypts it in the process’s memory, ensuring that the data remains encrypted throughout the entire process runtime. When the application accesses this memory, it reads the original data, while any external access only reads the encrypted data.

Due to the nature of encrypted memory, accessing it takes longer than usual. For this reason, Appdome chooses not to encrypt the entire process memory. Instead, it encrypts only the essential information generated by the application when enabling features like Appdome’s In-App Generated Seed and Smart Offline Handoff.

When storing those generated keys, Appdome employs encrypted memory, ensuring the secrets remain protected. It’s crucial to note that, for full protection of the keys, app developers must adhere to responsible coding practices. This includes wiping the secret from within the app code after it has been passed to Appdome. Failure to do so can result in the secret becoming exposed if the application’s memory is dumped.

Prerequisites for Using Store in Protected Memory:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Use Store in Protected Memory , you’ll need:

Use Store in Protected Memory on Mobile apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Use Store in Protected Memory without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.

    1. Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System

    2. Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
    3. Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
    4. Store in Protected Memory Compatible With: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more
  2. Build the feature: Store in Protected Memory.

    1. Building Store in Protected Memory by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Store in Protected Memory feature as shown below:
      2. fusion set that contains Store in Protected Memory

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Store in Protected Memory feature
        Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      3. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Store in Protected Memory feature via Appdome Console, to add the Store in Protected Memory feature to this Fusion Set.

      4. 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): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      5. 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:
        1. Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
    2. Building the Store in Protected Memory feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Store in Protected Memory protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > TOTALData™ Encryption section.
      2. How: Check whether is toggled On (enabled), otherwise enable it . The feature Store in Protected Memory is enabled by default, as shown below. Toggle (turn ON) Store in Protected Memory, as shown below. Store in Protected Memory option

        Figure 3: Use Store in Protected Memory option

      3. When you select the Store in Protected Memory you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Store in Protected Memory

        Fusion Set applied Store in Protected Memory

        Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Store in Protected Memory protection

      4. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
    Congratulations!  The Store in Protected Memory protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Store in Protected Memory feature in Mobile Apps

    After building Store in Protected Memory, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Store in Protected Memory protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Store in Protected Memory protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Store in Protected Memory shown in Certificate secure

    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 Store in Protected Memory has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Store in Protected Memory and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app

Using Threat-Events™ for Store in Protected Memory Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Store in Protected Memory is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Store in Protected Memory in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Store in Protected Memory shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Store in Protected Memory are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Use Store in Protected Memory Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Store in Protected Memory
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 Using Store in Protected Memory 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
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.
carrierPlmn PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices.
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
carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
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), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Store in Protected Memory is detected.

The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Store in Protected Memory:


Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Store in Protected Memory. 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 Store in Protected Memory

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:

Related Articles:

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.

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