A wireless communication network (20) including mobile applications (56-62) includes a security approach that uses a combination of at least two techniques (42, 50, 54, 72). One disclosed example includes a combination of all four techniques. The combined, layered approach greatly reduces the probability that an unauthorized individual will be able to masquerade as a valid application within the network so that network security is improved. Disclosed techniques include obfuscating software code of a mobile application, providing a mobile application with a plurality of code signatures for generating a corresponding plurality of unique control values, limiting the useful lifetime of a mobile application and determining that a control value of a mobile application corresponds to the control value of another application before the two applications are allowed to interact in a manner that could compromise either application or the network.