Course

Introduction to secure coding in Android

Start your learning by understanding why secure coding is essential in mobile app development.

Course description

Before you begin to write code, you need to understand why security is so essential in today’s modern mobile app. In this course, you will learn about the most common security mistakes developers make when creating apps. You will learn which mobile app vulnerabilities are considered the most dangerous and what can be done to defend against those dangers. You will explore Android security architecture and be introduced to Kotlin, a new open-source programming language developed by JetBrains (with some help from Google). We will wind up this course by examining a deliberately vulnerable Kotlin Android app that we will use in our activities throughout this path.

Syllabus

Secure Coding in Android student guide

File — 00:10:00

Secure Code in Android activity files

File — 00:00:00

The need for secure coding

Video — 00:09:46

Welcome to Secure Coding for Android! In this lesson, we discuss why it is necessary to include security in your code.

Activity: OWASP Top 10 Mobile Vulnerabilities

Video — 00:10:42

In this activity, we visit the OWASP Foundation’s website to examine the top 10 mobile app/device security vulnerabilities.

Activity: OWASP Top 10 Mobile Vulnerabilities Part 2

Video — 00:12:06

We continue examining the top 10 mobile vulnerabilities.

Activity: OWASP Top 10 Mobile Vulnerabilities Part 3

Video — 00:12:53

We conclude our examination of the top 10 mobile vulnerabilities.

Android Security Overview

Video — 00:14:42

In this lesson, we get an overview of built-in Android security mechanisms.

Kotlin Secure App Development Overview

Video — 00:11:02

In this lesson, we get an overview of Kotlin-specific security mechanisms that the developer can use when creating an app.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Hello

Video — 00:14:59

In this activity, we create a simple app that demonstrates basic interaction with the end user.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Greeting

Video — 00:10:00

In this activity, we concatenate “Hello” with whatever the user enters.

Activity: Researching Android vulnerabilities

Video — 00:10:24

In this activity, we research Android-specific vulnerabilities.

Beginner bonus

Video — 00:11:02

In this lesson, we provide a quick overview of what the beginning developer needs to know to create apps in Android Studio.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Sales tax calculator

Video — 00:12:47

In this activity, we calculate the sales tax on a purchase.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Sales tax calculator (cont’d)

Video — 00:05:46

We continue building our sales tax calculator app.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Two activities

Video — 00:12:24

In this activity, we see how to use an intent to move between two application activities.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Two activities (cont’d)

Video — 00:06:23

We continue building our two activities app.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Two activities calculator

Video — 00:11:46

In this activity, we combine what we have learned from the sales tax calculator and two activities apps.

Activity: Creating a simple app – Two activities calculator (cont’d)

Video — 00:10:02

We continue to build a calculator with two activities.

Meet the author

Chrys Thorsen is a technology and education consultant with 25 years of experience. Her work has taken her around the U.S. and overseas, including as a contractor for the CDC using technology to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

During her career, she has acquired 40 IT certifications, authored over 25 textbooks on a wide range of IT subjects, including secure iOS and Android coding, and created an equal number of IT-related video courses. When not working, Chrys enjoys reading scientific articles and experimenting with Internet-of-Things devices. She currently lives in Virginia with her sister, her cat and her dog which, as she describes it, “have the worst sibling rivalry imaginable.”

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