Protecting Software Binaries from Reverse Engineering

This proposal is to create an application that protects software binaries from reverse engineering. The goal of phase I is to develop a design by which such an application can be created in phase II. By carefully studying current reverse engineeringtechniques, along with current software protection schemes, we will be able to identify strong protections and create dynamic new ones to be used in a Constantly Altering Guarded Environment (CAGE). CAGE will be a second-generation, mutating, softwareprotection application. It will strategically employ techniques for defending precompiled binaries from reverse engineering in such a manner as to have no logical weaknesses, and no single point of failure. CAGE will dynamically alter its protection on twodistinct levels: with every execution of the protected binary and every compile of CAGE itself. This two-tiered mutation will prevent both specific breaches in protection, and any development of a general tool for breaching its protection. As CAGE willbe deployable on any Windows 16- or 32-bit application, the potential market for it is considerable. Its applications range from protecting proprietary and government sensitive algorithms to reviving the shareware community.