Most people think that microservices and SOA are the same concept. If you read the definition, you too will feel the same but it’s not really true. if we start from the beginning when the two concepts emerged, we realize that there was a significant time gap between them. The concept of Service oriented architecture or SOA emerged about a decade back while the concept of microservices started getting accepted around late 2013. It is only now that the latteris gaining some momentum. As is commonly seen in the IT industry, there are certain popular trends at any point in time which do not become popular overnight but have a steady upward climb over time. After sometime, when their popularity declines, they are revisited and presented with a new outlook.

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Understanding the difference between Microservices and Service oriented architecture

It important to reiterate that Microservices and Service Oriented Architecture are not the same though the basic idea for both stems from similar problems that are faced with complex applications. According to Martin Fowler, ‘SOA is a subset of Microservices’. For some other peopleMicroservices is about doing SOA the right way. Well, let me confess – there are many similarities in the two process like the concept of services being the cornerstone for architecture or how the services need to be independent of technology etc.

The difference between the two is in the very term ‘micro’. The focus is on smaller services in case of Microservices. The process breaks down a big application into smaller components and ensures that each of them has autonomy. Also they allow low coupling and high cohesion. This translates into the ability of the services to function independently of each other with an increased ability to add value to itself.

Another way to differentiate between the two processes is that the service in Microservices are significantly smaller than those in SOA though they are equally capable as standalone services. SOA on the other hand covers the entire system and may bring about changes in the way IT is handled in the organization. It essentially has a larger scope of influence.

What sets them apart?

There are three perceptible differences between SOA and Microservices. These are based on how the two concepts are used. These are:

It is unlikely that in an SOA environment, there will be a place for Microservices. In that sense, as far as application is concerned, both are mutually exclusive.
Microservices architecture and heavy application servers do not get together so it is unlikely that both will function together.
The concept of automation whether in infrastructure or in other processes is a significant part of deployment of Microservices architecture.

One thing that is challenging about microservices is their testing. The testing complexities can be rooted out by testing each component in a layered manner. With this, the system can be tested at each level resulting in a better test coverage. The following measures should be taken out to eliminate the testing complexities as a whole.

Each component ought to be tested individually by the independent teams working on different parts of microservices.
Properly handle the responses received by the multiple consumers of microservices.
All the services within microservices are inter-related and inter-dependent. Changes in any of them can bring about the alterations in the functions of others.

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Conclusion

Both Microservices and SOA are focused on solving different issues. While the former is the way in which smaller applications are structured in a bigger and more complex environment, SOA can be seen as a strategic approach to problem solving. It is about bringing a change in the structure of the entire enterprise by separating them into different services and thus making them more flexible.

Other Resources

The movement of critical applications to mobile is faster than expected. “e Marketer” expects mobile to overtake desktop in US- rising from $8.72 billion to $12.85 billion — just slightly above desktop’s $12.82 billion. At the same time, there will be 156.4 million mobile phone search users in the US, representing 49.0% of the population. As of Feb 2015, 78% of Facebook users are mobile-only. 84% of 13-17 year old own a mobile phone. 83% of 6-9 year old use a tablet.Mobile device makers are providing customized platforms to increase their share of the customer’s wallet.78% of smartphone users access a retail site via a mobile app. These people want on-the-go, targeted information with minimal data use that a mobile app provides. 44% of tablet users accessed a retail site via a mobile app.

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Mobile Applications

There are three types of applications which are hosted in any Mobile. Native applications written in a specific platform will run only in the supported devices like iOS for iPhone. Most common are the Web applications which any mobile device can access that are built using standards like HTML5 and available online. The last one is the Hybrid applications, a web-based user interface that have a layer of native applications around it which combines the best of both i.e. native and HTML5 worlds.

Mobile Security – Vulnerable areas

As the horizon widens, the scope for security threat also increases substantially for the mobile applications. The security risk for mobile applications comes in the following five ways.

How the access to the system works? Where the users are challenged while accessing the systems? How passwords and userids can be tracked in mobiles?
How the data which comes to the Mobile applications is validated? How to track the audit trail of data flow – to and from Mobile applications?
How safe is the data stored in the Mobile devices? Does encryption happens for all critical data?
Is data leaking to log files or out through notifications?

Five Major Mobile Security Threats:

The following are the 5 major threat areas which impacts the mobile security.

* Firstly, the data available in the mobiles like phone numbers, call logs, contacts, account details, IMEI can be accessed without the knowledge of the mobile owners which may be due to vulnerabilities in the applications installed in Mobiles.
* Second, major one which may cause financial losses are like sending premium SMS messages, stealing PIN numbers from transaction authorizations, making expensive calls, Fake anti-virus and ransomware.
* Thirdly, impersonation can happen by SMS redirection, sending email messages and posting in social media like Face book, Twitter etc.
* Fourthly, there may be surveillance issues like accessing the audio, camera, call logs, locations and SMS message in the mobile devices.
* Lastly, Botnet activities like launching DDoS activities, Click fraud, and sending premium SMS messages from the device.

Mobile Security Threat Modelling:

Before proceeding on the vulnerabilities existing in the mobile apps and threat modelling, we should categorize the applications available in the Mobile, the type of applications ported in the device by the manufactures. Normally developers of these applications should have considered the OWASP top 10 threats and addressed the same. For example, in a SQL injection, the code should verify that use of interpreters clearly separates untrusted data from command or query.

Before identifying the threats, the factors which expose the mobile applications like – location independence, always online and traceable nature, more focus on design and functionality than security, multiple types of applications on devices, should be considered and appropriate weight should be given.

The threat modeling should consider both the device security and app security – jail break, different platforms, versions, interfaces, Mobile Device Management etc., Also, the exposure to different attackers like internal, external, network or device access, black box/white box should be considered.

Having identified the threats, risk should be attached to each of the identified risks and risk prioritization should be done. The test cases should be written for all possible combinations for these identified risks.

Mobile Security Tools/Testing Tools:

There are many commercial tools available which protects your mobiles against anti-theft, antivirus, back-up essentials, blocking unwanted calls, parental controls, web-root analyses, SIM card locking. These tools are available to the end-users to protect their devices.

Still the mobile security testing tools area is emerging with tools which can comprehensively address the above mobile security threats. The tools which identify the vulnerabilities in the applications are quite good. The mobile security tester should find the appropriate tools to identify the vulnerability and write comprehensive test cases to address them in the mobile devices and applications.

It’s Your Turn: What do you Think? How to protect your mobile device with 360 degree Security, Share your insights in the comments box below. The next part of the content is coming next. ~~ Keep Following ~

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Microservices vs. SOA – What you need to know

Download Whitepaper: Test Data Management – Key Challenges and Test Approach

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Top 5 Major Activities to Test Security of Mobile Applications

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