Mobile App Dataflow Compliance Analysis via Multi-Engine Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transmission of personal data from mobile apps to remote servers raises concerns about privacy and compliance with jurisdiction-based data protection standards, as existing technologies lack effective mechanisms to analyze dataflow paths and ensure compliance with regulations like the EU GDPR.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a personal data transfer location analyzer (PDTLoc) that performs static, dynamic, and location analysis to determine dataflow paths and compliance with data protection standards by analyzing mobile apps, using a combination of static analysis engines, dynamic analysis engines, and location analysis engines to identify data transfers and generate visualizations for compliance assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If mobile apps transmit personal data to remote servers for processing and storage, then data processing capability and storage capacity are improved, but privacy security and compliance with data protection standards deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary static analysis of mobile application code before data transmission occurs, identifying dataflow paths and potential compliance issues in advance. This allows compliance verification to be established before actual data transmission, preventing violations while maintaining processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance verification system acts as an intermediary between mobile apps and remote servers, analyzing dataflow paths and transmitting compliance information to data protection authorities. This mediator role enables monitoring and verification without blocking legitimate data processing operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mobile apps transmit personal data to remote servers, then functional versatility and service capability are improved, but compliance with jurisdiction-based data protection standards deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback mechanisms that monitor data transmission destinations and compare them against jurisdiction-based data protection standards. When compliance issues are detected, the system generates reports and alerts, enabling real-time verification and adjustment of dataflow paths to maintain both service capability and compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance verification system segments the analysis process into distinct components: static analysis engine for code examination, dynamic analysis engine for runtime behavior monitoring, and location analysis engine for destination verification. This segmentation allows comprehensive compliance checking without interfering with overall service functionality.
3Reliability
If comprehensive analysis of mobile apps is performed to ensure compliance, then data protection compliance is improved, but system complexity and analysis time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The analysis system is divided into specialized modules: static analysis engine for examining application code structure, dynamic analysis engine for monitoring runtime dataflow behavior, and location analysis engine for verifying server destinations. Each module handles specific aspects of compliance checking, making the overall complex task manageable and systematic.
Solution Approach 2:
Static analysis is performed preliminarily to identify potential compliance issues before dynamic execution. By analyzing code structure and dataflow paths in advance, the system can prioritize subsequent dynamic testing and reduce overall analysis time while maintaining comprehensive compliance verification.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and system are disclosed that analyze a mobile app. In one aspect, an input including a URL address of the mobile app may be received. The URL address may correspond to the mobile app stored on a mobile application distribution platform. The mobile app may be downloaded from the URL address. Upon downloading the mobile app, a static analysis engine may be instantiated to perform static analysis of the mobile app. A dynamic analysis engine may be instantiated to perform a dynamic analysis of the mobile app. A location analysis engine may be instantiated to perform location analysis. Based on the results of the static analysis, dynamic analysis and location analysis, graphical visualizations may be generated. Based on the graphical visualizations, compliance or violation of data protection standards of the mobile app may be determined.