Mobile User Experience Options When Copy/Paste is Not Allowed for DLP
Learn to Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention in Mobile apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.
What are Mobile User Experience options?
By definition User experience (UX) in mobile refers to the overall experience a person has interacting with any type of mobile device (phone, tablet, wearable, hybrid). Interactions include apps, interfaces, software, or the hardware itself.
In the case of Appdome, the default User experience is to send the user a notification (the “Copy/Paste Disabled Notification” message) when trying to copy/paste any data (when this toggle is enabled).
Your particular use case might be different. You might want to allow the users to copy/paste in certain circumstances. If that is the case you can customize the behavior by enabling and implementing Threat-Events. When using Threat-Events, your application will receive the event when the security event is triggered and you can implement your own rules and logic on what to do when this event is triggered.
There are three (3) basic configurations available for Threat-Events. See section 2.2.4.
For details on how to implement Threat-Events, see section Using Threat-Events™ for App Screen Sharing Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Why Would You Customize the Mobile User Experience to which Your User is Exposed?
There might be business, user experience reasons, or other reasons to allow the user to copy/paste data in certain areas of your app. But there might be also sections of your app where sensitive information is located where you want to disallow these actions. These can be controlled via the implementation of Appdome’s Threat-Events and allow you to customize the mobile user experience your user is exposed to by implementing your own rules when events are triggered based on your needs.
NOTE:
If you choose to do so, depending on your configuration, Appdome is no longer enforcing the security but passes the events to your app where you have to enforce the protection.
Enforcing Copy/Paste Prevention on Mobile apps by Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention 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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Mobile App Formats: .ipa For iOS device or .apk or .aab
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Build the feature: Copy/Paste Prevention.
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Building Copy/Paste Prevention by using Appdome’s DEV-API:
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Copy/Paste Prevention feature as shown below:
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Copy/Paste Prevention feature via Appdome Console, to add the Copy/Paste Prevention 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, as shown in Figure 1 above, and get 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, Cirlce 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 Copy/Paste Prevention 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 Copy/Paste Prevention feature via Appdome Console
To build the Copy/Paste Prevention protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.
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Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > Mobile Privacy section
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How: Toggle (turn ON) Copy/Paste Prevention, 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 Enforces Copy/Paste Prevention.Figure 3: Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention 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 Copy/Paste Prevention you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Copy/Paste Prevention
Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Copy/Paste Prevention protection
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Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Copy/Paste Prevention:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects attempts to access your clipboard and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Copy/Paste Prevention (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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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 Copy/Paste Prevention protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Copy/Paste Prevention feature in Mobile Apps.
After building Copy/Paste Prevention, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Copy/Paste Prevention protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Copy/Paste Prevention 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 Copy/Paste Prevention has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Copy/Paste Prevention and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app
Using Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Copy/Paste Prevention is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Copy/Paste Prevention are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Copy/Paste Prevention |
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 | |
Visible in ThreatScope™ | |
Developer Parameters for Enforcing Copy/Paste Prevention Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | BlockedClipboardEvent |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | 8520 |
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 |
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 |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occured event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
carrierName | Carrier name of the current device |
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 long |
locationLat | Location lat |
locationState | Location state |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
blocked | Is the clipboard blocked |
action | Clipboard action |
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 Copy/Paste Prevention is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Copy/Paste Prevention:
IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();
intentFilter.addAction("BlockedClipboardEvent");
registerReceiver(new BroadcastReceiver() {
public 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...)
}
}, intentFilter);
val intentFilter = IntentFilter()
intentFilter.addAction("BlockedClipboardEvent")
registerReceiver(object : BroadcastReceiver() {
override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
var message = intent.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore") // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore") // Total threat events score
var variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>") // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}, intentFilter)
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("BlockedClipboardEvent"), 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: @"BlockedClipboardEvent" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) {
__block NSNotification *note = org_note;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {
var threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore")
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(
"BlockedClipboardEvent",
(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("BlockedClipboardEvent"));
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...)
}
}
window.broadcaster.addEventListener("BlockedClipboardEvent", 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...)
});
Prerequisites to Using Copy/Paste Prevention:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Enforce Copy/Paste Prevention , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Copy/Paste Prevention
- Mobile App (.ipa For iOS device or .apk or .aab For Mobile)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Copy/Paste Prevention. 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 Copy/Paste Prevention
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.
All apps protected by Appdome are fully compatible with any public app store, including Apple App Store, Google Play, Huawei App Gallery and more.
Features Similar to Copy/Paste Prevention
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
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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.