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FirstNet’s priority is to offer mobile apps in our catalog that are free of malware and severe security vulnerabilities.  Although the FirstNet team goes to great lengths to confirm that the network and devices are trustworthy, it is just as vital for developers to produce apps that have the ability to stay secure in case …

Continue reading “Developing a FirstNet Class App – By Daniel Madsen”

If you are on the Internet, you are a target for hackers.  That’s a plain and simple fact.  Bad guys want to steal confidential information, compromise the integrity of your network, or shut down the availability of emergency services.  You have to be your own best protection. One way to do that is to be …

Continue reading “Be Careful What You Type – By Barbara Laing and Pamela Heatley”

One of the core objectives of the FirstNet experience is to provide a reliable, highly secure and interoperable ecosystem for the public safety community. To help achieve that objective we have created the App Catalog and an Application Certification Program. A recent study published in December of 2017 by the Department of Homeland Security reported that 55% of mobile applications commonly used by the public safety community were found to have high-risk vulnerabilities.

The FirstNet Developer Program fosters an ecosystem of innovation, enabling the delivery of actionable data through public safety applications and devices, giving first responders the advanced technologies they need. Developers have participated in the FirstNet Developer Program since its launch in 2017, but the App Review Teams have found common mistakes with app submissions that have slowed approval of apps. Common mistakes have included not submitting all of the required documents, not including remediation plans for all vulnerabilities in the scan report, or not providing test credentials with the developer checklist