Can a new encryption trick prevent reverse engineering? | TechTarget (2024)

Answer

Expert Michael Cobb explains how reverse engineering can be made more difficult with an approach called Hardened Anti-Reverse Engineering System or HARES.

I read an article about an "encryption trick" that reportedly makes software virtually impossible to reverse engineer. What is this crypto trick, and can it work? Is there truly a way to prevent reverse engineering or not?

Software reverse engineering is the process of examining a program to learn how it works and what it does. It's a technique used by hackers to find exploitable vulnerabilities in common software programs as well as those looking to bypass restrictions imposed by software vendors such as access control technologies like Digital rights management. It is also used by security experts to examine malware in order to discover its purpose and how it can be detected and blocked.

Malware scanners and antimalware applications can provide tamper detection safeguards for third-party, but software developers themselves -- both good and bad -- like to use methods to deter reverse engineering in the first place. For example, Apple iTunes uses dynamic code generation to make static code analysis trickier. Other techniques include obfuscation -- where the purpose of the code is deliberately ambiguous or obscured -- and encryption -- where key sections of code are kept encrypted until it is actually executed when the program runs. Programs can also use runtime integrity and anti-debugging checks to detect if their code is being examined while executing inside a virtual machine, now a common technique used by both commercial software and malware to discourage reverse engineering.

The search for better methods to prevent reverse engineering is never ending. A new approach aiming to significantly increase the difficulty of reverse engineering a program has been developed by security researcher Jacob Torrey. "Hardened Anti-Reverse Engineering System" or "HARES" is implemented as a thin-hypervisor using TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer)-splitting to protect the decrypted program's instructions. TLB-splitting segregates the portion of a computer's memory where a program stores its data from the portion where it stores its own code's instructions. HARES keeps everything in the instructions portion of memory encrypted. The AES key used to encrypt and decrypt the instructions must be securely loaded into the CPU at each boot and does not persist between reboots. This means that even if a compromised OS kernel tried to read the in-memory decrypted instructions it would only see the encrypted memory page. Reverse-engineering techniques like fuzzing -- which aim to cause a software program to crash so the crash dump files can be analyzed -- would no longer help as the crash data would be meaningless.

Torrey admits that like any anti-tampering system, HARES isn't perfect; it is vulnerable to processor-based attacks like system management mode and Active Management Technology attacks. He also points out some chips have a debugging feature that allows a hardware device between the chip and the motherboard to read every command the processor executes. HARES does, however, add an additional barrier that has to be overcome by would-be reverse engineers.

The downside of any publically available reverse-engineering protection, of course, is that it can be used by those looking to protect intellectual property and those looking to thwart antimalware and network defenses. It can also make it harder for those looking to analyze malware in order to develop protections against it. Remotely hosted software is an alternative approach to tamper protection as the code is inaccessible, but providing API access to hosted software introduces a whole set of completely different security problems. Until fully hom*omorphic encryption becomes a practical reality and programs can execute encrypted instructions, developers have to accept that their software won't be able to resist being reverse engineered because at the point their code has to execute, it is going to be in the clear and thus vulnerable to analysis.

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Can a new encryption trick prevent reverse engineering? | TechTarget (2024)

FAQs

Can a new encryption trick prevent reverse engineering? | TechTarget? ›

Until fully hom*omorphic encryption becomes a practical reality and programs can execute encrypted instructions, developers have to accept that their software won't be able to resist being reverse engineered because at the point their code has to execute, it is going to be in the clear and thus vulnerable to analysis.

Can reverse engineering be prevented? ›

Preventing reverse-engineering attempts on a mobile app can be challenging, with determined attackers finding ways to bypass most security measures. But by employing various protection techniques and best practices, reverse engineers may find it more challenging and time-consuming to reverse engineer your app.

Do trade secrets protect against reverse engineering? ›

Reverse engineering is generally legal. In trade secret law, similar to independent developing, reverse engineering is considered an allowed method to discover a trade secret. However, in patent law, because the patent owner has exclusive rights to use, own or develop the patent, reverse engineering is not a defense.

What kind of encryption cannot be reversed? ›

A hash cannot be reversed back to the original data because it is a one-way operation. Hashing is commonly used to verify the integrity of data, commonly referred to as a checksum. If two pieces of identical data are hashed using the same hash function, the resulting hash will be identical.

What are the limitations of reverse engineering? ›

Intellectual Property Concerns: Reverse engineering raises ethical and legal questions regarding intellectual property rights. Manufacturers who invest substantial resources into research and development may be at risk of having their designs copied by competitors.

What should be the ideal recommendation for preventing reverse engineering? ›

Preventing reverse engineering of mobile applications involves using code obfuscation techniques, such as renaming variables and functions, encrypting critical code segments, and employing anti-debugging measures.

What are the 4 reasons for reverse engineering? ›

Here are four reasons why you should get those purchased component parts reverse engineered:
  • Increase Quality of Parts. Most component parts you find in the store are not designed to the highest levels of quality. ...
  • Reduce Costs. ...
  • Improves Efficiency of Parts. ...
  • Allows You to Provide Replacement Parts.

How do hackers use reverse engineering? ›

How Do Hackers Use Reverse Engineering? Hackers often use reverse engineering to find vulnerabilities in systems and devices. In many cases, hackers will obtain a copy of the software or hardware they want to attack. They will disassemble it, looking for ways to bypass security features or exploit weaknesses.

Can you legally protect a trade secret? ›

A trade secret can be protected for an unlimited period of time, unless it is discovered or legally acquired by others and disclosed to the public. For these reasons, the protection of trade secrets may appear to be particularly attractive for certain companies.

What is the burden of proof for trade secrets? ›

This burden of proof requires the trade secret owner to demonstrate that he or she was in possession of knowledge or information that was not generally known and was valuable precisely because it was not generally known, and that the knowledge or information was subject to efforts that were reasonable under the ...

What is the strongest encryption ever? ›

AES 256-bit encryption is the strongest and most robust encryption standard that is commercially available today. While it is theoretically true that AES 256-bit encryption is harder to crack than AES 128-bit encryption, AES 128-bit encryption has never been cracked.

Can AES 256 be reversed? ›

Maybe you're asking is AES can be broken; i.e. reversed without the key. The answer is that AES - if implemented correctly and applied with a proper key size (e.g., 256 bits) - is generally considered unbreakable. Note by “unbreakable” we mean a typical ciphertext can't be cracked in less than a human lifetime.

What is the most unbreakable encryption? ›

A stream cipher is designed based on the only completely unbreakable encryption algorithm: the one-time pad (OTP). The OTP takes a random secret key the same length as the plaintext and exclusive-ors (XORs) each bit of the plaintext and key together to produce the ciphertext as shown in the image above.

What is the most significant issue regarding reverse engineering? ›

However, it's important to note that while reverse engineering itself is legal, using it to infringe on intellectual property rights, such as copying patented products or proprietary software, is illegal in many jurisdictions.

What is a famous example of reverse engineering? ›

The Samba software, which allows systems that do not run Microsoft Windows systems to share files with systems that run it, is a classic example of software reverse engineering since the Samba project had to reverse-engineer unpublished information about how Windows file sharing worked so that non-Windows computers ...

What are the two types of reverse engineering? ›

There are two main types of reverse engineering: static analysis and dynamic analysis.

Is reverse engineering prohibited? ›

Owner's consent: Reverse engineering is usually legal if it is performed on products, systems or software to which the person or company conducting analysis has the legal right to access (purchased it) or the owner's consent.

What are the possible issues on reverse engineering? ›

Some of the most common reverse engineering challenges that you are likely to face include: Not having the right equipment – Even if you have successfully reverse engineered an object in the past, the equipment you have in-house may not be sufficient for the next object you must scan.

How can we prevent reverse engineering of PCB? ›

PCB assemblies requiring reverse engineering security benefit from potting encapsulation. A dual-phased process, potting uses a “pot” in the form of a case, shell or similar enclosure, to completely cover an electronic/electrical device, protecting it from the surrounding environment.

Can anything be reverse-engineered? ›

Many things can be reverse-engineered, including software, physical machines, military technology and even biological functions related to how genes work. The practice of reverse-engineering as applied to computer hardware and software is taken from older industries.

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