What if your next AI-built low-code app is a high-risk security threat? 

From HR portals to customer intake forms, 70% of enterprise apps will be low-code by 2025. Low-code platforms are revolutionizing the tech industry, but the question remains unanswered: Are the platforms secure?

The speed and simplicity of platforms like Power Apps, Mendix, and OutSystems empower citizen developers. Still, they also bypass DevSecOps guardrails, creating a silent rise in shadow IT, data exposure, and regulatory non-compliance across Canada, India, Singapore, and the U.S.

At Infosprint Technologies, a software development company, help growth-focused enterprises embrace low-code innovation securely and sustainably. In this blog, check out the hidden security risks in low-code apps and top 8 essential strategies to secure your apps, without slowing down innovation.

The Rise of Low-Code: A Strategic Shift in Application Development

By now, many of you have applications that utilize low-code or no-code development. Low-code is at the forefront of this movement, evolving from niche tools into a key strategic component. It empowers a new generation of creators and fundamentally transforms how organizations deliver digital solutions.

• 70% of new enterprise apps will use low-code or no-code tech by 2025

• Reduction in development time by up to 70%

• Empowerment of business teams to automate workflows and build dashboards without waiting months for IT

This accessibility has given rise to “citizen developers” across various industries, including operations managers, HR specialists, and even finance heads, who build apps tailored to their teams. The result? Agility like never before.

But this decentralized control over app development can also open doors to shadows, holes, and hidden vulnerabilities.

Explore how no-code and AI code assistants are shaping the future of development.

The Hidden Risks of Low-Code App

As low-code adoption surges, it's natural to focus on its benefits, but are we overlooking critical vulnerabilities? What truly lurks beneath the surface of these powerful platforms? This part of our discussion reveals the often-overlooked risks that can arise if low-code is not implemented with caution and foresight.

a) Shadow IT: Apps Built Outside IT Governance

“If IT doesn’t know it exists, it cannot secure it.”

Shadow IT refers to software, tools, or applications built or used without explicit IT approval or oversight. In low-code environments, this often occurs when business users or departments create apps independently, without notifying the security or compliance teams.

• Data Exposure: These apps can handle sensitive customer, financial, or HR data without data classification, encryption, or backup policies in place.
• Logic Errors: Unskilled developers may create flawed workflows, such as approving payments without verification or storing passwords in plaintext.
• No Visibility: IT cannot monitor or manage what it cannot see. If an app is breached or misused, there's no incident detection or response capability.

Impact: Regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), financial fraud exposure, and reputation damage

Example: An operations team creates a low-code dashboard for supplier payments using a shared Excel connector, storing bank account details without encryption. It goes unaudited until a data breach reveals hundreds of vendor records.

b) Security Misconfigurations in Low-Code Platforms

Low-code makes building easy. It doesn’t make building securely automatic. Security misconfiguration occurs when apps are deployed with default or weak security settings, or developers unknowingly expose sensitive components due to a lack of expertise or oversight.

• Public APIs left exposed without API keys, OAuth tokens, or rate limits
• Data-at-rest is not encrypted, leaving user credentials or financial records accessible
• Over-permissive access: granting full database access to all users instead of role-based access control (RBAC)

These misconfigurations are low-hanging fruit for attackers, often found via automated scans or API enumeration scripts.

Impact: Insider data theft, external breach via publicly accessible endpoints, and legal liabilities if customer data is exposed

c) Risky Third-Party Integrations

Low-code platforms thrive on integrations, but every connection adds another attack surface. LCNC tools commonly use pre-built connectors and third-party integrations to link to CRMs, ERPs, databases, cloud storage, and productivity tools. If these integrations aren't securely managed, they can become entry points for lateral attacks or data exfiltration.

• Many connectors don't enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) or least-privilege access
• Some rely on shared tokens, which are rarely rotated
• Integrations may not support centralized logging or monitoring

Impact: Compromised third-party credentials, chain attacks from vulnerable external services, and compliance failures due to unmanaged data flow

d) Lack of Secure SDLC Practices in Citizen Development

Traditional dev teams use the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Citizen developers usually don’t.

The SDLC encompasses structured processes, including requirements gathering, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance, all of which are integrated with security measures. In LCNC environments, these structured pipelines are often bypassed, especially when business users build apps independently.

What's often missing

• Version Control: No Git or change-tracking, so previous app states can't be restored or reviewed
• Code Review: No peer or security review before pushing apps live
• Audit Trail: No logs of who created or modified what part of the app, making investigations difficult

Impact: 

• Apps become challenging to maintain or troubleshoot
• Vulnerabilities go unnoticed until they are exploited
• Regulatory auditors can’t verify access or change history

Compliance Pressures in the Age of DIY Apps

Regulatory expectations are increasing globally. When non-technical teams build apps that handle sensitive data, the risk of compliance violations increases.

GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and PHIPA: Amplified Exposure

• A drag-and-drop HR tool storing employee health data? That’s HIPAA-sensitive.
• A customer intake app used in Ontario or California? That’s PHIPA and CCPA territory.
• A marketing survey to store user preferences? GDPR applies.

When such apps are built without compliance by design, companies open themselves to lawsuits, fines, and loss of customer trust.

Future-Proof Encryption and Post-Quantum Compliance

Governments and agencies, such as the NCSC (UK) and NIST (US), are calling for proactive encryption upgrades, particularly in preparation for the transition to post-quantum cryptography between 2028 and 2035.

Most LCNC platforms today do not natively support configurable encryption standards, making them a long-term compliance risk.

DevSecOps: A Missing Layer in Most LCNC Pipelines

DevSecOps is about integrating security into every phase of the development lifecycle—from code commit to deployment.

But here’s the reality:

“Only ~12% of code commits include automated scans, and LCNC apps rarely touch CI/CD pipelines at all.” Learn how Infosprint implements secure CI/CD through DevSecOps practices.

LCNC Apps Often Bypass:

• Code review stages
• Static/dynamic analysis
• Security scanning tools
• Manual pen testing

As a result, insecure apps often go live before secure apps can be approved. SMEs and even large enterprises usually find themselves with hundreds of apps and a lack of unified DevSecOps visibility.

Case Studies – When LCNC Apps Backfire

A) Healthcare App in the U.S. – Confidant Health Exposure

In August 2024, a security researcher discovered an unsecured database belonging to the telehealth provider Confidant Health, which contained over 120,000 files and 1.7 million activity logs

• What Went Wrong: Misconfiguration left the database accessible without password protection. It exposed therapy session notes, medical histories, ID scans, audio and video files, and AI-generated logs.

• Impact: Highly sensitive patient data was exposed across five U.S. states. Though no signs of malicious access were detected, the incident triggered a comprehensive security audit and urgent remediation

B) Vendor Portal in Canada 

In May 2021, Canada Post announced that more than 950,000 customer records, including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers, were compromised due to a malware attack on its supplier, Commport Communications, which had access to parcel shipping manifests.

What went wrong: Commport communications compromised systems provided attackers access to the shipping manifests data spanning from July 2016 to March 2019

Impact: Nearly a million individuals affected. Although financial data wasn’t breached, the incident raised concerns about third-party risk and shadow IT

C) Carousell (Marketplace Apps) – API Misconfiguration in Singapore

In July 2022, during an update to the chat feature, Carousell deployed a public-facing API without proper filtering. This allowed access to private user data (email, phone, date of birth). Attackers scraped data from at least 46 highly followed accounts, exposing up to 3.4 million users.

What went wrong: Missing API filter, inadequate pre-launch testing, and poor documentation in their deployment process

Industry Insights: Tailoring Low-Code Security by Sector

Low-code app success depends on more than speed; it also depends on security tailored to your sector. From healthcare to oil & gas, each industry faces unique risks, regulations, and attack surfaces.

Here are tailored mitigation strategies to ensure your low-code innovation isn’t your weakest link.

a) Finance Industry

• Implement mandatory encryption-at-rest and in-transit
• Align builds with PCI-DSS, GLBA, and MAS TRM mandates.
• Restrict citizen developer access to financial datasets.

b) Healthcare Industry

• Enforce HIPAA and PHIPA compliance monitoring in all apps
• Isolate patient data from general-purpose low-code tools
• Schedule quarterly audits and red-team tests for LCNC apps.

c) Manufacturing Industry

• Secure intellectual property like designs and pricing formulas
• Use identity-based access controls for supplier apps
• Audit third-party connectors before every deployment

d) Oil & Gas Industry

• Prevent OT/SCADA integration via LCNC without security vetting
• Restrict access to operational dashboards with RBAC and MFA
• Scan all automation workflows for credentials and data leakage

e) Retail Industry

• Block LCNC apps from storing PII or payment details without PCI filters
• Integrate fraud monitoring tools into low-code sales/loyalty systems
• Monitor marketplace connectors for data scraping or misuse

f) Government Industry

• Apply FedRAMP/MeitY/IM8-aligned data protection protocols
• Enforce zero-trust network architecture for internal LCNC portals
• Run continuous compliance checks for citizen service apps

Top 8 Strategies to Secure Low-Code Apps

1) Centralize Governance

Establish a Low-Code Center of Excellence (CoE) with IT and security leads who define best practices, monitor usage, and review critical apps before deployment.

2) Inventory and Visibility

Use tools that provide visibility into all low-code apps being built. Some platforms offer native dashboards or integrate with SIEM tools for real-time monitoring.

3) Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Ensure all applications use RBAC to assign access based on user roles. Limit admin privileges and consistently enforce least privilege principles.

4) Security-by-Design Training

Train both IT and business users on secure low-code development practices—this includes input validation, access control, encryption, and secure API usage.

5) Automated Security Scanning

Deploy AppSec testing tools that can scan low-code apps for common vulnerabilities. While traditional tools may not work perfectly, emerging solutions are filling the gap.

6) Data Governance Policies

Make sure apps adhere to enterprise data classification and retention policies. Monitor data flowing in and out of low-code applications and apply data loss prevention (DLP) rules.

7) Shadow IT Mitigation Programs

Create a non-punitive reporting mechanism where teams can disclose apps they’ve built. Incentivize responsible innovation rather than penalizing unauthorized efforts.

8) Vendor Risk Management

Vet the security practices of the low-code platform provider. Look for:

• ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II certifications
• Penetration test reports
• Secure deployment models (on-premise/private cloud if needed)

Build Fast, Build Secure

In a world of rapid transformation, low-code development offers the speed and flexibility that every enterprise craves. But fundamental transformation is secure transformation.

The increasing pace of AI integration, workflow automation, and digital customer experiences means that low-code adoption is only accelerating. But no executive wants to be the following headline for a breach caused by an insecure app built by an enthusiastic but untrained citizen developer.

Your teams are building apps faster than IT can secure them. Is your low-code strategy creating security blind spots?

Turn Your Low-Code Risk into a Competitive Advantage - Book a Free Low-Code Security Consultation Today