Looking back, 2024 felt like a year when the mobile security landscape finally flexed its muscles and tested everyone’s resolve. Developers and penetration testers weren’t just facing brand-new iPhone 16 devices with ever-tightening security controls; they were grappling with the absence of public jailbreaks in iOS 17 and now iOS 18, navigating a globalized (and physically fragmented) testing workforce, and confronting a spike in data leakage vulnerabilities. In short, we wrestled a many-headed mobile security hydra—only to emerge with a clearer vision of how to thrive in 2025.
Data Leaks, Zero-Days, and Other Nasty Surprises
The year was rife with wake-up calls. Mobile data leakage issues soared, with industry reports showing thousands of mobile apps, on both platform’s app stores with millions of downloads, have exposed hardcoded AWS and Azure credentials served up on a platter for the taking. (Symantec) These vulnerabilities can rear their head through poor code hygiene, insecure storage, improper encryption, or flawed API calls. Over the year, Zimperium (2024 Global Mobile Threat Report) observed that “83% of phishing sites specifically targeted mobile devices” and that “unique malware samples increased by 13% over the previous year”. Added to that, zero-day exploits—critical vulnerabilities with no vendor patch available—resulted in “14% of Android devices and 1% of iOS devices” being susceptible due to not being able to upgrade their OS
These stats gave mobile security experts, penetration testers and vulnerability researchers plenty to chew on. They highlighted the urgent need for deeper, more dynamic testing approaches. When data spills out into the wild, reputational damage and regulatory consequences follow. By year’s end, the industry’s stance was clear: lip service to mobile security just won’t cut it anymore. It’s time to dig deeper, test smarter, and respond faster.
Spin the Physical Device Roulette Wheel, Wait for the Delivery Guy
As always, fall brought the ritual unveiling of Apple’s shiny new iPhone 16 models. While buying these devices has never been simpler, the realities of global, distributed testing teams turned the process into a logistical quagmire. Forget sharing a device across the table—try shipping it across continents, juggling import regulations, and babysitting tracking numbers. For many organizations, each new device release forced a painful recalibration: waiting, delaying, and burning valuable time that could have been used to patch vulnerabilities or harden defenses.
This physical complexity feels archaic against the agile backdrop of continuous integration and rapid release cycles. Fortunately, virtualization solutions like Corellium stepped up to fill the gap. Instead of tying up resources in shipping departments or letting engineers twiddle their thumbs, testers can now spin up limitless virtual iOS devices on demand. Need multiple instances to parallelize tests? Done. Want to revert to a known state after a failed attempt? Just restore a snapshot. Overextended team members on opposite ends of the globe? Collaborate in real-time on virtual hardware that behaves just like the real thing—without passing around a physical device like a hot potato.
A World Without Public Jailbreaks…But Not Without Access
With iOS 18, Apple doubled down on device security, continuing a trend started by iOS 17: where there are no publicly available jailbreaks for these modern devices. For years, jailbreaks acted as a golden ticket for penetration testers and vulnerability researchers, granting root-level visibility into the heart of iOS and mobile apps. Without that easy path, researchers must scramble for alternatives—either testing on older iOS 16 devices with known jailbreaks or proceeding without a jailbreak altogether. Both options limit their ability to fully verify the secure and compliant handling of sensitive data.
Corellium’s platform reshaped this narrative by offering jailbroken virtual iOS devices running any version—from iOS 10 to iOS 18—at the click of a button. Instead of waiting (often in vain) for a public jailbreak to surface, testers can instantly peer under the hood, dissecting code paths, memory structures, and encrypted data flows. This capability restores the deep visibility that’s so crucial to identifying the subtle vulnerabilities attackers love to exploit. In a world where public jailbreaks are on the endangered species list, instant, guaranteed root access is a lifeline for security teams.
Shifting Left into the Fast Lane: From DevOps to DevSecOps
All these challenges—data leakage crises, intricate device logistics, missing jailbreaks—converged into a crystal-clear message: security testing must shift left. Today’s companies don’t want to wait for an annual penetration test with static findings that are often out of date before the report is printed. They want real-time security insights integrated right into their daily workflows. Instead of firing off a build to a distant vendor, waiting weeks for a formal report, then scrambling to fix issues late in the game, they want security riding shotgun throughout the entire development process.
This cultural shift is made frictionless by Corellium’s MATRIX capabilities, which offer automated mobile app security assessments and real-time reporting. With MATRIX, organizations can run continuous scans, highlighting data leaks, insecure network communications, and other vulnerabilities as soon as they appear in an app build. Instead of a once-a-year snapshot, developers get a dynamic, living security feed that guides them toward safer coding practices. Meanwhile, Corellium’s extensive SDK capabilities plug seamlessly into existing CI/CD pipelines. By integrating MATRIX security checks into build scripts, and deployment tools, teams can fully embrace DevSecOps—where code, testing, and security improvements flow together at high velocity.
This integrated approach ensures that by the time an app sees the light of day, it’s already been through a gauntlet of automated checks, penetration tests, and peer reviews. Vulnerabilities are fixed early, often, and decisively, trimming both cost and risk in the long run.
From Chaos to Clarity: The 2024 Legacy
If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that complexity and risk breed opportunity. The headaches of shipping physical devices in a globalized world, the lack of public jailbreaks, and the spiking data leakage incidents forced the industry to get creative. Virtualization provides a path forward, allowing testers to bypass physical constraints and work collaboratively with global peers. Automated security assessments and integrated SDKs turned DevOps pipelines into robust DevSecOps engines. Instead of waiting for disasters, forward-thinking organizations invested in continuous vigilance.
As we set our sights on 2025, we carry forward the lessons of a year that tested our limits. With virtualization and integrated security at our disposal, we’re poised to transform mobile app penetration testing from a reactive chore into a proactive, efficient, and intelligence-driven discipline. The hydra of 2024 may have reared its many heads, but now we know how to tackle them all—and then some.
