Every mobile app is assembled from layers of code that most security teams never see: third-party libraries, analytics SDKs, advertising frameworks, open-source packages, and proprietary binaries that arrive pre-compiled.
Those apps then run on devices that already contain firmware, chipset software, carrier services, and preinstalled system applications. Each of those components has its own dependencies, update cycles, and security assumptions.
VP Solutions Engineering at Quokka.
This is why mobile risk looks different from traditional software risk. It’s also why organizations continue to struggle with leaks, exposures, and data loss that don’t look like breaches until it’s too late.
Why mobile supply chain risk is different
When supply chain attacks make headlines, they usually involve enterprise IT systems, compromised updates, or poisoned repositories. Mobile, however, operates under a different set of rules.
On desktops and servers, security teams can monitor system behavior, network traffic, and deploy agents with deep visibility. On mobile devices, that level of access is restricted by design. Sandboxing, permission models, and OS constraints limit inspection.
Firmware and chipset software are often opaque. Preinstalled apps cannot be removed or patched by enterprises at all.
This creates an asymmetry: mobile devices are used for sensitive work, but organizations have less visibility into their internals than almost any other endpoint.
Android’s openness allows researchers to discover issues, but it also introduces fragmentation. Each device manufacturer, carrier, and chipset vendor adds its own software layers. The same app can behave differently across devices depending on firmware, drivers, and preinstalled services.
Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem reduces fragmentation but increases opacity; flaws can remain hidden for years before discovery.
In both cases, the mobile supply chain extends far beyond the app developer, yet security accountability still falls on the organization.
Trust breaks down in layers
The mobile ecosystem runs on a cascading trust model. Developers trust SDKs. Enterprises trust developers. Users trust app stores. Security teams trust platform vendors. When that chain breaks at any point, the consequences ripple outward.
Real-world examples make this clear. Compromised open-source packages have been pulled into mobile apps without developers realizing it. Proprietary SDKs distributed as binaries have introduced hidden network connections and insecure cryptography.
Preinstalled system apps have leaked app usage data, SMS metadata, and device identifiers, even though they were never visible to enterprise security tools.
In each case, the vulnerability wasn’t introduced by the organization using the app. It was inherited.
This is why mobile risk is so persistent: enterprises are responsible for software they did not write, cannot see, and often cannot control.
An added geopolitical layer of risk
There is also a growing geopolitical dimension to mobile supply chain risk that most enterprises are not accounting for. Many third-party SDKs used in popular mobile apps are written, maintained, or operated by companies based in adversary or high-risk countries.
In some cases, these SDKs communicate with infrastructure outside U.S. or allied jurisdictions, creating potential exposure to foreign surveillance laws, data interception, or influence.
Governments are increasingly scrutinizing mobile apps and SDKs with ties to China and other adversarial nations because of the data they can access and where that data can flow.
When an app embeds a third-party SDK, it effectively inherits the legal, operational, and geopolitical risk profile of the entity behind it, even if the developer is unaware of those connections.
Why traditional mobile security no longer works
Most mobile security programs still rely on official app store approval. This worked in a simpler era, when apps were smaller and dependencies were limited.
App store screening focuses on known malware patterns, not unintended data leakage or risky third-party behavior. This creates blind spots that attackers exploit and that leaky apps slip through.
Seeing the full supply chain requires a different approach
To reduce mobile supply chain risk, security teams need to shift their perspective. The unit of risk is no longer the app. It’s the supply chain behind the app.
That means understanding what code is actually shipped, not just what was declared. It means inspecting binaries, not only source. It means evaluating behavior, not just permissions. And it means treating preinstalled software and firmware as part of the threat surface, not something outside scope.
When organizations apply Software Bill of Materials practices to mobile, combined with binary inspection and behavioral analysis, they begin to see risks that were previously invisible.
Hidden SDKs, outdated cryptographic implementations, hard-coded secrets, and unexpected network communications all surface when you look beyond the surface of the app.
More importantly, these techniques allow security teams to respond to change. Mobile apps update constantly. Dependencies shift. New risks appear without warning. Continuous visibility is the only way to keep up.
The new reality of mobile risk
Mobile devices are primary business tools. They authenticate users, access sensitive systems, and store regulated data. Yet they remain one of the least understood parts of the enterprise attack surface.
Until organizations start going beyond the app surface to the app supply chain, inherited risk will continue to accumulate. Leaky apps will persist. Firmware flaws will go unnoticed. And organizations will keep reacting to incidents they never saw coming.
The question is no longer whether mobile supply chain risk exists. It’s whether your organization is equipped to see it before it becomes a breach.
We've featured the best encryption software.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.