How to Build Anti-Debugging in Android & iOS Apps

Last updated June 3, 2024 by Appdome

This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Block Debugging Tools in Mobile apps.

What are Debugging Tools?

All the time and effort invested in designing, developing, and testing a mobile app can be endangered if your secret information – namely, algorithms, business logic, and unique data – is stolen by extracting your design.

The discipline for extracting design from a product is called Reverse-Engineering, and has two main categories:

Static: Extracting the design of the application without running it, just inspecting its contents.
Dynamic: Extracting information about the inner workings of the application by running it in its target or controlled (emulator) environment, and using various tools to inspect the data processing of an application while it runs. This is also known as debugging.

This Knowledge Base article explains Appdome’s Anti-Debugging capabilities, a key component of ONEShield™ by Appdome, which Appdome automatically adds to every app built using Appdome.

Why Block Debugging Tools in Mobile Apps?

Debugging Tools are software tools that will allow malicious users to debug your application. Some of them are very versatile and allow you to communicate with your device and facilitate a variety of device actions including installing and debugging apps, as well as access to shell commands to run a variety of commands on a device.

Appdome’s Anti-Debugging counters and stunts malicious dynamic reverse-engineering attempts on your application.

With Block Debugging Tools, developers can achieve the following in Android:

Attempting to attach to the process with a debugger, tracing tool or code injectors will result in the application misbehaving, and eventually terminating.
Attempting to debug the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) by using JDB (or anything that utilizes the JDWP protocol) will disconnect the debugger.

in iOS, connecting with a debugger will cause the debugging client (lldb) to:

Halt.
After a sufficient wait time, the debug session will terminate and the debugger will crash.

These are the basic measures Appdome takes to make sure an attacker has to resort to other techniques such as tampering and static reversing. Both of which are protected by Appdome’s Anti-Tampering and Anti-Emulator . This three-pronged defense gives an all-around effective hardening for your mobile app.

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Anti Debugging Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Block Debugging Tools , you’ll need:

Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
A license for Anti Debugging
Mobile App (.ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android)
Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)

How to Implement Block Debugging Tools in Mobile Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Block Debugging Tools without an SDK or gateway:

Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
1. Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
2. Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
3. Anti Debugging is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
Select the defense: Anti Debugging.

Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Anti Debugging feature as shown below:

Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Anti Debugging feature

Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Anti Debugging feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

When you select the Anti Debugging you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Anti Debugging.

Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Anti Debugging protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):

Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary

Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:

Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.

Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.

Add the Anti Debugging feature to your security template.

Navigate to Build > Security tab > ONEShield™ section in the Appdome Console.
Like all other options in ONEShield™, Anti Debugging is turned on by default, as shown below:
Figure 4: Selecting Anti Debugging
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.

Toggle On > Anti Debugging.

(a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Anti Debugging as shown below.

(b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR.

Figure 4: Selecting Block Debugging Tools
Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB.

Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Anti Debugging:

Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Debugging Tools.

Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects Debugging Tools 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™ to Anti DebuggingBlock Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Debugging Tools (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to 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 Anti DebuggingBlock Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

Configure the User Experience Options for Anti Debugging:
With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.

App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.

Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.

Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.

Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Debugging Tools

Anti Debugging Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Anti Debugging is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.

Initiate the build command either by clicking Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 4) or via your CI/CD as described in Section 2.1.4.

Congratulations! The Anti Debugging protection is now added to the mobile app

Certify the Anti Debugging feature in Mobile Apps

After building Anti Debugging, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Anti Debugging protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Anti Debugging protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:

Figure 6: 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 Anti Debugging has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Anti Debugging and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for Debugging Tools Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Debugging Tools are detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Debugging Tools in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Debugging Tools shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Debugging Tools are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Block Debugging Tools Method Detail

Appdome Feature Name Anti Debugging

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 Blocking Debugging Tools Threat-Event™

Threat-Event NAME DebuggerThreatDetected

Threat-Event DATA reasonData

Threat-Event CODE reasonCode

Threat-Event REF 6918

Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score

threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score

Threat-Event Context Keys

message Message displayed for the user on event

failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat

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. Only available for Android devices.

deviceID Current device ID

reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event

buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application

devicePlatform OS name of the current device

carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.

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 longitude conditioned by location permission

locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission

locationState Location state conditioned by location permission

wifiSsid Wifi SSID

wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status

threatCode The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.

reason Reason for detection

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 Debugging Tools are detected.

The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Anti Debugging:

Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.

IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter(); intentFilter.addAction("DebuggerThreatDetected"); BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() { @Override 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 // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.getStringExtra(""); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) } }; if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED); } else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter); }

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IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();
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intentFilter.addAction("DebuggerThreatDetected");
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BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
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@Override
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public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
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String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user
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String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
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String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
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// Total threat events score
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String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>");
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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}
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};
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if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
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registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED);
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} else {
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registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter);
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}

val intentFilter = IntentFilter() intentFilter.addAction("DebuggerThreatDetected") val threatEventReceiver = 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 // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore") // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore") // Replace '' with your specific event context key // var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("") // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) } } if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED) } else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter) }

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val intentFilter = IntentFilter()
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intentFilter.addAction("DebuggerThreatDetected")
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val threatEventReceiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() {
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override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
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var message = intent?.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user
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var reasonData = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause
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var reasonCode = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore")
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// Total threat events score
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var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore")
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>")
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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}
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}
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if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
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registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)
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} else {
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registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter)
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}

let center = NotificationCenter.default center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("DebuggerThreatDetected"), 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 // Current threat event score let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '' with your specific event context key // let variable = usrInf[""]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }

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let center = NotificationCenter.default
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center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("DebuggerThreatDetected"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
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guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
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return
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}
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let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
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let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
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let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"];
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// Total threat events score
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let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"];
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"];
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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}

[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"DebuggerThreatDetected" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) { __block NSNotification *note = org_note; dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) { // Message shown to the user NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"]; // Threat detection cause NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"]; // Event reason code NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"]; // Current threat event score NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '' with your specific event context key // NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@""]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }); }];

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[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"DebuggerThreatDetected" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) {
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__block NSNotification *note = org_note;
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dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {
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// Message shown to the user
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NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"];
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// Threat detection cause
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NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"];
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// Event reason code
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NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"];
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// Current threat event score
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NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"];
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// Total threat events score
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NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"];
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"];
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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});
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}];

const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules; const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents); function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) { NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action); aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback); } export function registerToAllEvents() { registerToDevEvent( "DebuggerThreatDetected", (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 // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"] // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"] // Replace '' with your specific event context key // var variable = userinfo[""] // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) ); }

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const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;
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const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);
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function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) {
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NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action);
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aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);
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}
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export function registerToAllEvents() {
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registerToDevEvent(
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"DebuggerThreatDetected",
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(userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo))
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var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user
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var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause
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var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"]
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// Total threat events score
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var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"]
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"]
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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);
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}

RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("DebuggerThreatDetected")); 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 // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.GetStringExtra(""); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) } }

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RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("DebuggerThreatDetected"));
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class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
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{
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public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
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{
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// Message shown to the user
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String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message");
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// Threat detection cause
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String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData");
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// Event reason code
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String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode");
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// Current threat event score
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String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
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// Total threat events score
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String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>");
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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}
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}

NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver( (NSString)"DebuggerThreatDetected", // Threat-Event Identifier delegate (NSNotification notification) { // Message shown to the user var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message"); // Threat detection cause var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData"); // Event reason code var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '' with your specific event context key // var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey(""); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) } );

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NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver(
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(NSString)"DebuggerThreatDetected", // Threat-Event Identifier
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delegate (NSNotification notification)
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{
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// Message shown to the user
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var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message");
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// Threat detection cause
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var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData");
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// Event reason code
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var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode");
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// Current threat event score
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var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore");
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// Total threat events score
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var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore");
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>");
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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}
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);

window.broadcaster.addEventListener("DebuggerThreatDetected", 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 // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore // Replace '' with your specific event context key // var variable = userInfo. // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });

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window.broadcaster.addEventListener("DebuggerThreatDetected", function(userInfo) {
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var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user
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var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause
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var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore
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// Total threat events score
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var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys>
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
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});

import 'dart:async'; import 'package:flutter/material.dart'; import 'package:flutter/services.dart'; class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget { const PlatformChannel({super.key}); @override State createState() => _PlatformChannelState(); } class _PlatformChannelState extends State { // Replace with your EventChannel name static const String _eventChannelName = "DebuggerThreatDetected"; static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName); @override void initState() { super.initState(); _eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError); } void _onEvent(Object? event) { setState(() { // Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure var eventData = event as Map; // Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event var externalID = eventData['externalID']; // Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore']; // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore']; // Replace '' with your specific event context key // String variable = eventData['']; }); } // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }

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import 'dart:async';
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import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
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import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
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class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget {
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const PlatformChannel({super.key});
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@override
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State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();
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}
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class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> {
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// Replace with your EventChannel name
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static const String _eventChannelName = "DebuggerThreatDetected";
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static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName);
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@override
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void initState() {
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super.initState();
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_eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError);
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}
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void _onEvent(Object? event) {
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setState(() {
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// Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure
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var eventData = event as Map;
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// Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event
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var externalID = eventData['externalID'];
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// Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure
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String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user
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String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause
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String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code
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// Current threat event score
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String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore'];
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// Total threat events score
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String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore'];
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// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
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// String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>'];
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});
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}
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// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
48
}

Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Anti Debugging. 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 Anti Debugging

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.

Related Articles:

How to Block Android Debug Bridge (ADB) Exploits, Protect Android Apps

How to Block Memory Editing tools for Android & iOS apps

Running a Checksum Validation of Android & iOS Apps

How to Verify the Structure & Integrity of Android & iOS Apps

How Do I Learn More?

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

Thank you!

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.

How to Build Anti-Debugging in Android & iOS Apps

What are Debugging Tools?

Why Block Debugging Tools in Mobile Apps?

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Anti Debugging Plugins:

How to Implement Block Debugging Tools in Mobile Apps Using Appdome

Designate the Mobile App to be protected.

Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.

Select the defense: Anti Debugging.

Add the Anti Debugging feature to your security template.

Certify the Anti Debugging feature in Mobile Apps

Using Threat-Events™ for Debugging Tools Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

Related Articles:

How Do I Learn More?

Thank you!

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Supercharge the Experience in Mobile App Defense

Better User Experience in Mobile Defense

Shifting Dynamics in Mobile Fraud Prevention: A Call for Developer Responsibility

Threat-Event™ Elements	Block Debugging Tools Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name	Anti Debugging
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 Blocking Debugging Tools Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME	DebuggerThreatDetected
Threat-Event DATA	reasonData
Threat-Event CODE	reasonCode
Threat-Event REF	6918
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore	Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore	Total Threat-events score

Threat-Event Context Keys
message	Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce	Timed enforcement against the identified threat
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. Only available for Android devices.
deviceID	Current device ID
reasonCode	Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate	Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform	OS name of the current device
carrierName	Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
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 longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat	Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState	Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid	Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus	Wifi SSID permission status
threatCode	The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.
reason	Reason for detection