Defenses Against Reverse Engineering

Existing software systems face the threat of reverse engineering. Given enough time and resources, a determined hacker can recover the design of a software program by examining its binary. The consequences of this can be dramatic: the hacker may gain unauthorized access to sensitive computer systems, allowing him to wreak untold havoc. At worst, this may allow him to compromise national security, or to perpetrate a terrorist attack. A more common result is for the hacker to "crack" software protection, thereby enabling illegal and widespread dissemination of the intellectual property rights found in, or protected by, the hacked software. During Phase I, GrammaTech developed a prototype tool for adding protection against reverse engineering to software binaries. During Phase II, GrammaTech will develop this prototype into a state-of-the-art anti-reverse-engineering tool.