Topic starter
01/08/2026 8:59 pm
TL;DR: App attacks reached 83% in January 2025, up from 65% in 2024, as AI-assisted malware, attack profitability and attack democratization widened exposure according to Arxan Technologies. Application hardening now has to follow web, mobile and desktop apps continuously, not just the perimeter.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Arxan Technologies: “2025 Application Security Threat Report”.
By the numbers:
- App attacks surged to 83% in January 2025.
- App attacks were up from 65% in 2024.
Key questions
Q: Why do AI-assisted attacks increase application risk so quickly?
A: AI-assisted tooling reduces the effort required to find exposed endpoints, vary payloads, and test credentials at scale.
Q: Where does application security fail when teams rely on infrastructure-centric controls?
A: It fails when attackers stay inside business logic, APIs, and pipeline trust paths that host and network tools cannot see well.
Q: How should teams harden applications that sit outside the perimeter?
A: Start with the apps that are internet-facing, customer-facing or updated most often, then validate authentication, session handling, input controls and runtime monitoring together.
Practitioner guidance
- Harden externally exposed applications first Prioritise mobile, web and desktop applications that are reachable outside the corporate perimeter, then map which of them handle authentication, sessions, tokens or customer data.
- Treat application hardening as continuous Move from periodic testing to ongoing validation of code, configuration and runtime behaviour so newly introduced exposure does not remain open until the next release cycle.
- Rank applications by attackability and business impact Build a portfolio view that separates internet-facing, high-change and customer-impacting applications from lower-risk internal software, then assign testing depth accordingly.
Bottom line: Application attacks are rising fast, and the report ties that increase to AI-assisted malware, higher attacker profitability and easier reuse of attack methods.
Glossary terms: Application Hardening, AI-Assisted Malware Rewriting, Attack Surface Management, Application Exposure Drift
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This topic was modified 2 hours ago by NHI Mgmt Group
01/08/2026 9:06 pm
Application attack inflation is now a governance problem, not just a malware problem. When attack frequency rises from 65% to 83%, the issue is no longer isolated exploitation but a broader failure to keep pace with exposed software estates. That means app security ownership has to align with release velocity, runtime exposure and business criticality. Practitioners should treat application hardening as an operational control, not a periodic hygiene task.
A question worth separating out:
Q: Should organisations prioritise perimeter hardening or mobile controls first?
A: Do both, but prioritise whichever path currently exposes the most privileged access. If external gateways and SSO appliances are internet-facing, hardening them first reduces immediate blast radius. If BYOD is a major access channel, mobile application control and posture enforcement become equally urgent because they protect the credentials users bring into the environment.
👉 Read our full editorial: App attacks surged to 83% as AI-assisted malware expands