Secure public apps

You can use MDM capabilities to distribute, manage, and secure public apps. You can also enforce OS-provided MDM restrictions.

Public apps are developed by third-parties and distributed from iTunes App Store or Google Play. Public app developers do not share their code signing certificate that allows your organization to wrap their app.

If you need to use public apps, and have app security requirements beyond MDM restrictions, you need to collaborate with the public app developers to have them follow some guidelines.

Learn about the App Config Community

The App Config Community focuses on providing tools and guidance around the capabilities in mobile operating systems. This focus enables a more consistent, open, and simple way to configure and secure mobile apps. Device users benefit with instant mobile productivity and a seamless experience. Businesses benefit with secure, work-ready apps that require minimal setup and integrate with existing investments in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), VPN, and identity management solutions. Ultimately, apps are simpler to configure, secure, and deploy.

This community publishes guidelines for developing applications to better align apps to meet the security requirements of enterprises. These guidelines cover these critical areas:

App Configuration
Auto-configure URL/port settings, group codes, email addresses, and license keys to eliminate the need to educate app users about their first launch.
Security Policies and Access Control
Restrict apps to run only on approved devices and enforce security policies such as required encryption and data loss prevention at the app level.
App Tunneling
Selectively enable approved apps to use an app tunnel to connect to backend and corporate networks.
Single Sign-On
Enable single sign-on across enterprise apps, integrating with existing identity management solutions.

More details about the App Config Community can be found here: http://www.appconfig.org/

Note: The App Config Community can be consulted for enterprise apps in addition to public apps. If you need a way to configure your app and have an MDM, you can consult the App Config Community. However, if you need to encrypt apps, you need to use the SDK or App Wrapping.

Learn about the MaaS360 WorkPlace Partner Program

In this program, MaaS360 collaborates with software developers that create apps for enterprise use and packages the MaaS360 SDK into the apps. These apps (MaaS360 Trusted WorkPlace apps) get released to public app stores. Any enterprise that uses the Trusted WorkPlace apps can extend the MaaS360 container security for these apps.

A list of MaaS360 WorkPlace Partner Program participants can be found at http://www.maas360.com/partner-program/maas360-market/0

This approach might not work for you if the app you are interested in does not participate in this program. The app developer needs to keep updating the app with the most recent SDK version to support current features.