DBT Bureau
Pune, 14 Oct 2024
TAC InfoSec Limited, India’s first publicly listed cybersecurity company, has revealed its new partnership with Google as an authorized lab for Mobile Apps Security Assessment (MASA) for developers on the Play Store, as part of the App Defence Alliance (ADA). This recognition allows TAC Security to assist developers in meeting Google’s mobile application security standards, ensuring thorough vulnerability testing and compliance. Previously, TAC Security was the only recommended Assessor for Google’s Cloud Application Security Assessment (CASA) Program.
Commenting on the partnership, Trishneet Arora, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of TAC Security, said, “We are excited to join the exclusive club of Google-approved authorised labs for MASA assessment. This will open an exclusive opportunity to accelerate client additions at our end, given a potential universe of 10,000+ developers on the Play Store. At the same time, MASA service commands a premium in terms of margins compared to Cloud Apps, enabling us to improve our margins in the future. This achievement and the recent global acquisitions keep us in line with the growth projections and, more importantly, towards our vision to become the largest vulnerability management firm globally by 2026”.
Google Play hosts nearly 3.5 million Android mobile apps that billions of users have downloaded. Google’s mission to increase transparency and help users make informed choices about the mobile apps they install has recently led to requiring mobile app developers to disclose how their apps handle user data in the Google Play Data safety section. With user privacy taking centre stage, non-compliant apps may face additional enforcement actions, such as removal from Google Play Store listing. Google has introduced an optional independent security review to enable Android developers to drive more downloads by reassuring users to follow best security practices. Independent security review through App Défense Alliance (ADA) Mobile Application Security Assessment (MASA) needs to be conducted only by an ADA Authorized Lab. It helps the developers by giving them a security badge for their app, which is hosted on the Play Store.
In September 2024, the company announced the successful completion of the acquisition of CyberSandia – a U.S.-based cybersecurity firm holding a statewide government contract to provide IT services for the State of New Mexico. The company also appointed Hector Balderas to the Board of Directors in the U.S. TAC also acquired TAC Cyber Security Consultancy L.L.C, its wholly-owned subsidiary in the UAE, to cater to the growing demand for advanced cybersecurity services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and the broader Middle East. ‘