Abstract:
This paper proposes a method for evaluating the artificiality of protected code by means of an N-gram model. The proposed artificiality metric helps us measure the stealt...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
This paper proposes a method for evaluating the artificiality of protected code by means of an N-gram model. The proposed artificiality metric helps us measure the stealth of the protected code, that is, the degree to which protected code can be distinguished from unprotected code. In a case study, we use the proposed method to evaluate the artificiality of programs that are transformed by well-known obfuscation techniques. The results show that static obfuscating transformations (e.g., Control flow flattening) have little effect on artificiality. However, dynamic obfuscating transformations (e.g., Code encryption), or a technique that inserts junk code fragments into the program, tend to increase the artificiality, which may have a significant impact on the stealth of the code.
Date of Conference: 19-19 May 2015
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 03 August 2015
Electronic ISBN:978-1-4673-7094-3