How to Detect Geo DeSync in Mobile apps
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Geo DeSync in Mobile apps.
Why Detect Geo DeSync in Mobile Apps?
Detecting discrepancies in geographical synchronization in mobile apps is crucial for several compelling reasons, each tied to the integrity, utility, and security of mobile services:
1. Integrity of Location-Based Services: Many apps rely on accurate location data to provide services that are relevant to the user’s current geographical position. These could range from navigation and weather apps to social networking and dating apps that tailor content based on where the user is. If the location data is spoofed, it undermines the core functionality of these services, leading to a degraded user experience.
2. Security and Fraud Prevention: Fraudulent location data can be used to bypass geo-restrictions for content or services, falsify game activities, or exploit location-based pricing strategies. It can also be a tool for stalking or other malicious activities. Detecting and preventing location spoofing helps maintain the security of the app and protects users from potential abuse.
3. Trust and Compliance: Users trust apps with their location data, assuming that this information will enhance the service they receive. If an app is easily manipulated through location spoofing, this trust is eroded, which can damage the app’s reputation and user base. Furthermore, compliance with legal and regulatory standards in many jurisdictions requires that apps handle location data accurately and securely.
4. Prevention of Unauthorized Access: Certain apps, especially those offering financial services or sensitive information, use location data as part of their authentication and access control mechanisms. Spoofed locations can lead to unauthorized access to these services, posing significant risks to both the service provider and the users.
In summary, detecting fraudulent location data is essential for protecting your platform and users from the risks of location fraud and ensuring that location-based actions, transactions, and interactions are based on the user’s true whereabouts.
How Does Appdome Detect Geo DeSync in Mobile Apps?
Appdome’s Geo DeSync detection capabilities are built to identify and address location discrepancies by analyzing a range of signals to ensure the location provided by the operating system is based on the user’s actual whereabouts. Here’s how Appdome’s specific features work together to safeguard location-based services against spoofing attempts:
1. Accelerometer and Location Mismatch: This method identifies inconsistencies between accelerometer data (which measures the device’s movement) and GPS location data. If the accelerometer indicates that the device is stationary but the GPS data shows the location changing, this discrepancy suggests that the location data may be spoofed.
2. Automatic Time Zone Off: (Only available for Android)—Since users can manually set their device’s time zone, Appdome checks for mismatches between the device’s set time zone and its reported location. A mismatch could indicate an attempt to manipulate the location data, making this feature critical in identifying location spoofing attempts on Android devices.
3. Time Zone and Location Mismatch: Expanding on the time zone analysis, this feature uses geocoding—a process that converts physical addresses into geographical coordinates—to verify the consistency between the device’s GPS data or country ISO code and its time zone.
Warning! The Time Zone and Location Mismatch feature provides no guarantees of accuracy. Results are based on estimation and may not always be accurate.
4. Geocode to GPS mismatch: (Only available for Android) Network mismatches are a strong indicator of potential location spoofing attempts, where fraudsters manipulate their GPS coordinates to gain unauthorized access to services, promotions, or content intended for a different region. Geocode to GPS mismatch combats this issue by comparing GPS-based location with the location information derived from the currently registered cellular operator or nearby cell towers.
Warning! As per Android guidelines, OS Geocoding services provide no guarantees of availability or accuracy. Results are a best guess and are not guaranteed to be meaningful or correct. Do NOT use this API for any safety-critical or regulatory compliance purposes.
Note: The Geocode to GPS Mismatch feature is supported exclusively on Android 11 and higher. Earlier versions, including Android 10 and below, do not support the required functionality used in this detection.
5. ThreatScope GPS Location: Appdome pinpoints the mobile device’s location based on its GPS location, not its IP address.
Together, these features form a robust framework for detecting and preventing location spoofing in mobile apps. By leveraging data from the device’s accelerometer, analyzing time zone settings, and employing geocoding techniques, Appdome provides a comprehensive solution to ensure that location-based services operate on accurate and reliable location data, thereby protecting the app’s integrity and its user’s trust.
Note: If you receive the following message, please ensure that your app includes the following implementation permission.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Detect Geo DeSync Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Geo DeSync , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Detect Geo DeSync
- 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 Detect Geo DeSync in Mobile Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Detect Geo DeSync without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
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Detect Geo DeSync is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
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Select the defense: Detect Geo DeSync.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Detect Geo DeSync feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you select the Detect Geo DeSync you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect Geo DeSync.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect Geo DeSync 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
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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:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect Geo DeSync feature as shown below:
Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect Geo DeSync feature
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Add the Detect Geo DeSync feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > Geo Compliance tab > Geo Compliance section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle On > Detect Geo DeSync.
(a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Detect Geo DeSync 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 Detect Geo DeSync
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 Detect Geo DeSync:
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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 Geo DeSync.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects fraudulent location present in the mobile device 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 Detect Geo DeSyncDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Geo DeSync (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 Detect Geo DeSyncDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Configure the User Experience Options for Detect Geo DeSync:
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.
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Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.
Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Geo DeSync
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Detect Geo DeSync Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Detect Geo DeSync 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.
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Congratulations! The Detect Geo DeSync protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Detect Geo DeSync feature in Mobile Apps
After building Detect Geo DeSync, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect Geo DeSync protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect Geo DeSync 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 Detect Geo DeSync has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect Geo DeSync and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Threat-Events™ for Geo DeSync Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Geo DeSync is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Geo DeSync in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Geo DeSync shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Geo DeSync are:
| Threat-Event™ Elements | Detect Geo DeSync Method Detail |
|---|---|
| Appdome Feature Name | Detect Geo DeSync |
| 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 Detecting Geo DeSync Threat-Event™ | |
| Threat-Event NAME | FraudulentLocationDetected |
| Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
| Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
| Threat-Event REF | 6801 |
| 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. |
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 Geo DeSync is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect Geo DeSync:
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.
xxxxxxxxxxIntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();intentFilter.addAction("FraudulentLocationDetected");BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() { 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // 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);}xxxxxxxxxxval intentFilter = IntentFilter()intentFilter.addAction("FraudulentLocationDetected")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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>") // 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)}x
let center = NotificationCenter.defaultcenter.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("FraudulentLocationDetected"), 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}xxxxxxxxxx[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"FraudulentLocationDetected" 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });}];xxxxxxxxxxconst { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) { NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action); aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);}export function registerToAllEvents() { registerToDevEvent( "FraudulentLocationDetected", (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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"] // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) );}x
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("FraudulentLocationDetected")); class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver{ public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { // Message shown to the user String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message"); // Threat detection cause String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData"); // Event reason code String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }}x
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver( (NSString)"FraudulentLocationDetected", // 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });xxxxxxxxxxwindow.broadcaster.addEventListener("FraudulentLocationDetected", 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys> // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)});x
import 'dart:async';import 'package:flutter/material.dart';import 'package:flutter/services.dart';class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget { const PlatformChannel({super.key}); State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();}class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> { // Replace with your EventChannel name static const String _eventChannelName = "FraudulentLocationDetected"; static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName); 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 '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>']; }); } // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Detect Geo DeSync. 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 Detect Geo DeSync
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 Detect Fake Location in iOS Apps
- How to Protect Android & iOS Apps Against Fake GPS Apps
- How to Implement VPN Detection for 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.
