Can You Protect E-Scooters from Vandalism and Fraud?

E-scooters are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transportation in cities around the world, offering a convenient and eco-friendly alternative to traditional forms of transport. However, as their popularity grows, so does the risk of vandalism and fraud, which can lead to significant financial losses for companies that operate e-scooter sharing programs. According to Lime representatives, "vandalizing property is a crime, and only harms those who rely on these vehicles every day as an affordable, convenient way to get around. Lime takes vandalism seriously and will pursue appropriate legal action against those that damage or vandalize our property."

To combat these threats, companies are also turning to advanced mobile app and API security technology to protect their e-scooters and ensure the safety and security of their customers. Mobile app attestation, runtime secrets protection, and RASP (Runtime Application Self-Protection) technology can further enhance the security of e-scooter sharing programs by preventing unauthorized access to user devices and preventing credential stuffing attacks. This can help prevent financial losses for scooter companies and protect the personal information of their customers.

Here are some of the ways in which this technology can help:

GPS Tracking

One of the key features of e-scooter sharing programs is the ability to track the location of each scooter in real-time using GPS technology. This not only allows customers to easily locate and reserve a scooter, but it also enables companies to track the whereabouts of their fleet and quickly respond to any issues. By integrating GPS tracking into their mobile app and API security technology, e-scooter companies can monitor the location of each scooter and set up alerts to notify them if a scooter is moved outside of its designated area. This can help prevent theft and unauthorized use of e-scooters, and allow companies to quickly recover stolen scooters.

User Authentication

Another important aspect of mobile app and API security technology is user verification. By requiring users to provide a valid ID and payment information, companies can ensure that only authorized users are able to rent and ride their e-scooters. User verification can also help prevent fraud by verifying the identity of each user and ensuring that they are not using a stolen credit card or other fraudulent means to pay for their ride. This can help protect the company from financial losses and maintain the integrity of their e-scooter sharing program.

Mobile App Attestation

Mobile app attestation is a security measure that verifies the integrity of a mobile app and ensures that it has not been tampered with or modified. This can help prevent attackers from modifying the app to bypass security measures and gain unauthorized access to user devices. By using mobile app attestation, e-scooter companies can ensure that only legitimate versions of their mobile app are used to unlock their e-scooters. This can help prevent attackers from using malicious versions of the app to gain access to user devices and steal their credentials.

Runtime Secrets Protection

Runtime secrets protection is a security measure that encrypts and protects sensitive information, such as user credentials, during runtime. This can help prevent attackers from stealing sensitive information from memory, even if they have gained access to the device. By using runtime secrets protection, e-scooter companies can protect the credentials of their users from being stolen by attackers who have gained access to their devices. This can help prevent credential stuffing attacks, where attackers use stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to user accounts and steal valuable data.

Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) 

RASP (or Runtime Application Self-Protection) technology is security software that is built into the mobile application code itself and can self-detect and prevent attacks in real-time. RASP can help prevent a wide range of attacks, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and code injection attacks. Using RASP technology, enables e-scooter companies to detect and stop attacks in real-time, without relying solely on traditional security measures like code obfuscation or app hardening. This can help prevent financial losses by stopping attacks before they can cause vandalism or damage via fraud to the e-scooter sharing program.

Secure Payment Processing

Mobile app and API security technology can also help protect e-scooter companies from financial fraud by ensuring that all payment transactions are processed securely. This includes using encryption to protect sensitive payment data and implementing fraud detection measures to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions. By using secure payment processing technology, e-scooter companies can protect their customers' payment information and prevent financial losses from fraudulent transactions.

Remote Locking and Unlocking

Finally, mobile app and API security technology can enable e-scooter companies to remotely lock and unlock their scooters. This can be particularly useful in preventing vandalism, as companies can quickly lock a scooter if they suspect it is being tampered with or vandalized. Remote locking and unlocking can also help prevent unauthorized use of e-scooters by ensuring that only authorized users are able to unlock and ride them.

In conclusion, mobile app and API security technology can play a crucial role in protecting e-scooters from malicious users, hackers and bad actors. Mobile app attestation, runtime secrets protection, and RASP technology offer military-grade security to e-scooter sharing programs and actively prevent financial losses by preventing unauthorized access to mobility products and preventing credential stuffing attacks. By using these technologies in combination with integrated GPS tracking, user verification, secure payment processing, and remote locking and unlocking, e-scooter companies can ensure the safety and security of their customers and protect their fleet from financial losses. 

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