Computer Network Operations (CNO)

The aim of this Phase I SBIR effort is to develop a framework that security engineers can use to decide what protection techniques to use, when and under what conditions, to guard their applications software against piracy, tampering and/or reverse engineering threats. Currently, little guidance exists to help security engineers determine how best to protect their applications software from exploitation attempts. To develop the framework, RCI will use multiple-faceted viewpoint modeling to ensure that all dimensions of the decision are considered. To validate the framework, RCI plans to experiment on a NASA energy conversion application to understand what protection tools and techniques perform best, when, and why. The framework will be portrayed for security engineers using the concept of a balanced scorecard for ease of comprehension and usability. To assess the commercial potential of the technology, RCI will conduct an aligned market survey and develop a business plan. They will also plan a technology demonstration should they be awarded a Phase II follow-on effort.