Jim Sheire, branch chief for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Shared Services Office, said CISA provided federal civilian executive branch agencies with free access to its beta Mobile App Vetting service to help counter risks posed by mobile applications.
The MAV service achieved authorization to operate on Feb. 8 and is now used by 18 FCEB agencies to identify mobile app vulnerabilities and create a risk-based approach to selecting secure government-developed or third-party apps, Sheire wrote in a blog post published Thursday.
In early 2022, Customs and Border Protection employed MAV as part of its efforts to enhance app-vetting capability across the agency.
CBP uses the vetting service to test mobile apps for security concerns before installing them on personnel’s smartphones and tablets.
“A standout example of this is when CBP undertook vetting efforts for a third-party COVID-19 contact-tracing app. Here, MAV was able to detect several issues inherent to software’s iOS version. This discovery prompted CBP to cancel the app’s deployment, which consequently protected the security and integrity its mobile devices,” Sheire said.
According to Sheire, more federal agencies will gain access to MAV’s capabilities in the coming months.
