Mobile apps are India’s real economy now. Your bank account, your cab, your loan, your insurance claim, your ration card, it all runs through an app. Still, mobile penetration testing as an activity is the security budget line – item that gets cut off first, delegated last, and executed with the least consistency. 

I’ve sat in enough conversations with CXOs and product heads to know why mobile testing feels opaque. It is difficult to draw comparison among vendors. And most shortlisting processes come down to whoever had the presentable sales deck or brand recall. 

Below is a list that is not curated basis rankings but an honest breakdown of 10 mobile app security firms in India worth actually talking to in 2026. Evaluated on parameters that matter when your app is on the line: MASVS alignment, real device testing, API coverage, genuine iOS and Android research depth and reports that your developer team can actually refer and act on.  

What mobile app pentesting actually means  

A mobile app penetration test is a manual, attacker-style assessment of an Android or iOS application. A pentester examines:  

• The app binary itself, looking for hard-coded secrets, weak cryptography, insecure libraries, insufficient obfuscation, and missing anti-tampering controls.  

• Runtime behaviour, including how the app handles rooted or jailbroken devices, hooking, instrumentation, and dynamic code injection.  

• Data storage, both on the device and in memory, looking for sensitive information leaked into shared preferences, plist files, logs, screenshots, or backups.  

• Network communication, including TLS validation, certificate pinning, and resistance to traffic interception.  

• Authentication and session management, including biometric flows, OAuth, JWT handling, and multi-device login behaviour.  

• The backend APIs the app talks to, since most real-world mobile breaches exploit weak server-side authorisation rather than the app itself.  

A scanner can find about 30 percent of what matters. A manual pentest finds the remaining 70 percent.  

Why mobile app pentesting matters more in 2026  

₹250 crore  maximum DPDP Act penalty per data breach

~70%  of Indian financial transactions are now mobile-first

₹22 crore  average cost of a data breach in India

Three things have changed since 2023:  

• The DPDP Act, 2023: in active enforcement, with penalties up to ₹250 crore per breach. Mobile apps that leak personal data are now a regulatory liability, not just a brand risk.  

• RBI Master Directions, SEBI CSCRF, and UIDAI guidelines: all explicitly require periodic security testing of customer-facing mobile applications.  

• OWASP released MASVS v2: the modern global standard for mobile app security. Any serious mobile pentest in 2026 maps to it explicitly.  

1. Payatu  

Payatu is a leading cybersecurity consulting company with a research-led mobile security practice. The team has experience of more than a decade, testing iOS and Android applications across multiple Industries such as BFSI, fintech, healthcare, SaaS across 20+ countries.  

What separates Payatu’s mobile application security testing is what they’ve contributed back to the community. Payatu has developed DIVA (Damn Insecure and Vulnerable App), an intentionally vulnerable Android application used worldwide for mobile security training. They built BugBazaar and iBugBazaar, dynamic mobile pentest learning platforms for Android and iOS with regularly updated vulnerability sets. Payatu consultants have publicly disclosed mobile app vulnerabilities to their name and have also presented mobile attack path researches undertaken at global conference of the likes of Black Hat, DEF CON, Nullcon, HITB and BruCON to name a few.  

A company with tool-led approach gives you a CSV with weak cryptography flags in your APK. Payatu engagement on the other hand walks you through how an attacker uses Frida to bypass your certificate pinning, hooks the biometric authentication flow, pulls the JWT from memory, replays it against an unauthenticated admin endpoint and exits with customer PII. The report consists of reproducible steps and required fixes not just a finding number. An actual explanation of what broke and how to close it.  

Payatu’s mobile testing is aligned to the latest OWASP MASVS, covers Android and iOS native applications as well as React Native, Flutter and hybrid apps and extends to the backend APIs the app communicates with. Payatu also uses an AI-assisted agentic analysis platform that automatically reviews source files, native libraries, deeplinks, exposed secrets and runtime protections, helping pentesters identify risky patterns faster and focus on validating real vulnerabilities. The team also handles complex environments most consulting companies skip: apps with custom HSM integrations, biometric SDKs, e-KYC flows, UPI integrations, custom encryption stacks and connected-device companion apps.  

Beyond services, Payatu operates as a CERT-In empanelled Information Security Auditing Organisation and an ISO 17025 accredited testing laboratory. The team founded Nullcon, today, Asia’s largest information security conferences and Hardwear.io, the global hardware security conference. They also wrote EXPLIoT (the open-source IoT security framework) used extensively across security research worldwide.  

If you’re shipping a mobile app that handles money, identity, health or anything an attacker would meaningfully care about, Payatu is the team that tests it the way an attacker would.  

Services:  

• Android Application Penetration Testing  

• iOS Application Penetration Testing  

• React Native, Flutter & Hybrid App Testing  

• Mobile Backend API Security Testing  

• OWASP MASVS-aligned Assessment  

• Mobile Threat Modelling  

• Source Code Review (Mobile)  

• Companion App Testing (IoT, Wearables, Automotive)  

• Mobile Security Training (EXPLIoT Academy)  

What makes them different:  

• Authors of DIVA, the globally used Android security training app  

• Builders of BugBazaar & iBugBazaar, mobile pentest learning platforms  

• Founders of Nullcon and Hardwear.io security conferences  

• Authors of EXPLIoT, the open-source IoT security testing and exploitation framework.   

• Regular mobile and embedded security research at Black Hat, DEF CON, HITB, Nullcon  

• CERT-In Empanelled Information Security Auditing Organisation  

• ISO 17025 Accredited Testing Laboratory  

Best suited for: Fintech, BFSI, and payment apps. Healthcare and MedTech apps. SaaS product companies. e-KYC, UPI, and identity-handling apps. Companion apps for IoT, automotive, and connected devices. Anyone shipping a mobile app where the gap between “scanner findings” and “what an attacker actually does” matters.  

2. Appknox 

Appknox is a Bangalore-based mobile-native security platform, founded in 2014, combining automated SAST, DAST, and API testing with manual penetration testing by security researchers. Trusted by 300+ organisations including Singapore Airlines, Samsung, and Paytm, with 60+ BFSI clients and 130+ test cases mapped to OWASP MASVS. 

Services: Automated Mobile App Scanning (SAST/DAST), Manual Mobile Pentesting, API Security Testing, App Store Monitoring (Storeknox), SBOM Analysis. 

3. HackersEra 

HackersEra is a Pune-based offensive security firm that describes itself as India’s first automotive cybersecurity company. Its mobile assessments cover runtime analysis, traffic and encryption flaws, insecure storage, code signing, and binary instrumentation, and the team publishes hands-on offensive security courses, including Android exploitation, through its training division. 

Services: Android & iOS Pentesting, Mobile Reverse Engineering, Mobile API Security, Source Code Review, Mobile Security Training. 

4. SecureLayer7 

SecureLayer7 has logged 70,000+ hours of pentesting across 150+ clients. Its mobile engagements test against the OWASP Mobile Top 10, combining automated discovery with manual test cases built around the app’s business logic, and deliver detailed vulnerability reports. 

Services: Mobile App VAPT (iOS & Android), API Security Testing, Mobile Source Code Review, Compliance-aligned Mobile Audits. 

5. Indusface 

Operating since 2004, Indusface focuses on securing web and mobile applications. Its mobile security assessments combine automated tools, custom scripts, and manual testing, paired with the AppTrana WAAP platform for continuous protection. 

Services: Mobile App Penetration Testing, API Security Testing, AppTrana WAAP, Continuous Vulnerability Management. 

Want to see what a real mobile pentest report looks like? 

 Download a sample Payatu pentest report and see the depth of testing and reporting for yourself. → Get your copy at https://payatu.com/reports/ 

6. Astra Security 

Astra combines automated scanning with manual mobile testing, delivered through a dashboard built for developer teams, with a continuous testing loop. NASSCOM Emerge 50 recognised, trusted by SpiceJet, Dream11, and Muthoot Finance. 

Services: Mobile App Pentesting (iOS & Android), API Pentesting, Cloud Security, Continuous Vulnerability Scanning. 

7. Kratikal 

Kratikal is a CERT-In empanelled security auditor serving 650+ enterprises and SMEs. It pairs mobile penetration testing with phishing simulation, compliance audits for ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, and v-CISO services. 

Services: Mobile App VAPT, Web/Network VAPT, ISO & SOC 2 Audits, Phishing Simulation, v-CISO. 

8. ISECURION 

ISECURION is a CERT-In empanelled firm running mobile app penetration testing (iOS and Android) alongside broader VAPT, compliance, and audit services. Its compliance coverage spans ISO 27001, SOC 2, DPDP Act, RBI audits, and SEBI CSCRF, with mobile tests typically completed in 5 to 7 days. 

Services: Mobile App Pentesting (iOS & Android), API Security Testing, Compliance Audits. 

9. Qualysec 

Qualysec tests Android, iOS, and hybrid applications, with reports accepted by SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI DSS auditors. Its model combines manual testing with automated scanning using tools including Burp Suite and Metasploit. 

Services: Mobile App Pentesting (iOS, Android, Hybrid), API Testing, Compliance Audits (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA), Network Pentesting. 

10. SecurEyes 

SecurEyes blends mobile application testing with governance, risk, and compliance support, with 12,000+ applications tested across web, Android, iOS, and SaaS. Its GRC consulting covers ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. 

Services: Mobile App Pentesting, Application Security Assessment, GRC Consulting, Regulatory Compliance Consulting. 

How to actually pick the right mobile app pentest partner 

Mobile pentesting is not generic VAPT with the word “mobile” sprinkled on top. These seven questions separate teams who can do the work from teams who can talk about it: 

• Is the test aligned to OWASP MASVS? Ask which MAS level (L1, L2, R) they test against. If the answer is vague, the methodology probably is too. 

• How much of the work is manual? A serious team will give you a percentage. “100% automated” usually means “MobSF output with a cover letter.” 

• Do they test on physical devices? Emulators miss biometrics, secure enclave behaviour, hardware-backed keystore weaknesses, and runtime obfuscation. Ask which devices and OS versions they use. 

• Do they test the backend APIs too? Most real mobile breaches happen through weak server-side authorisation, not the app binary. If the pentest stops at the binary, half the attack surface is untested. 

• Have they tested apps like yours? A team that’s tested 50 payment apps will spot things in yours that a generalist will miss. Ask for similar industry references. 

• Does the report help engineers? Ask for a sample. Look for reproduction steps, root cause, exploit chains, and clear remediation. If it reads like a tool dump, it is one. 

• Any public research on mobile security? CVEs, conference talks, blog posts on Android or iOS exploitation, vulnerable apps released for training. Optional, but a strong signal of real-world skill. 

Frequently asked questions 

What is mobile app penetration testing? A manual, attacker-style assessment of an Android or iOS app: the binary, runtime behaviour, data storage, network communication, authentication, cryptography, and the backend APIs the app talks to. The goal is to find vulnerabilities a real attacker could exploit, with proof. 

Which is the best mobile app pentest company in India? Payatu is widely regarded as one of the strongest, particularly for organisations needing research-led testing on iOS and Android. Authors of DIVA, BugBazaar, and iBugBazaar. CERT-In empanelled, ISO 17025 accredited. Appknox is the leading mobile-first SaaS platform. 

What is OWASP MASVS? The OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard: the global benchmark for mobile app security, with three profiles: MAS-L1 (baseline), MAS-L2 (advanced), MAS-R (resilience). Any serious mobile pentest in 2026 maps to MASVS explicitly. 

How much does mobile app pentesting cost in India? Typically ₹60,000 to ₹5,00,000+ per platform depending on app complexity, depth of manual testing, and whether backend APIs are in scope. Apps with heavy backend integration, custom cryptography, or anti-tamper protections sit at the higher end. 

How long does a mobile app pentest take? Usually 5 to 15 working days per platform, including testing, reporting, and one round of retesting. Combined Android + iOS scopes with shared backend APIs run 3 to 4 weeks. Complex apps with multiple SDKs or DRM can run longer. 

What does a mobile pentest catch that a scanner doesn’t? Business logic flaws, broken authentication chains, deeplink abuse, jailbreak/root bypass weaknesses, runtime instrumentation vulnerabilities, insecure use of secure enclaves and keystores, and backend API authorisation bugs that only surface when findings are chained. Scanners find the obvious. Manual testing finds the dangerous. 

Is mobile pentesting mandatory for RBI and SEBI? RBI Master Directions, SEBI CSCRF, and the DPDP Act all expect “reasonable security safeguards” for customer-facing applications. Periodic mobile pentesting is the standard evidence used to demonstrate that, and is increasingly demanded in enterprise vendor security reviews. 

Looking for a mobile pentest team that thinks like an attacker? 

Payatu tests Android and iOS apps the way real attackers would: chained exploits, backend API abuse, runtime bypasses, and findings backed by reproduction steps. Research-led, manually driven, and built to be useful long after the report lands in your inbox. 

Talk to Payatu about your mobile app pentest at payatu.com/contact-us