The Effectiveness of Source Code Obfuscation: an Experimental Assessment

Conference paper


Ceccato, Mariano, Di Penta, Massimiliano, Nagra, Jasvir, Falcarin, P., Ricca, Filippo, Torchiano, Marco and Tonell, Paolo 2009. The Effectiveness of Source Code Obfuscation: an Experimental Assessment. 17th IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension (ICPC-09). Vancouver (Canada) May 17-19 2009 pp. 178 - 187
AuthorsCeccato, Mariano, Di Penta, Massimiliano, Nagra, Jasvir, Falcarin, P., Ricca, Filippo, Torchiano, Marco and Tonell, Paolo
TypeConference paper
Abstract

Source code obfuscation is a protection mechanism widely used to limit the possibility of malicious reverse engineering
or attack activities on a software system. Although several code obfuscation techniques and tools are available, little knowledge is available about the capability of obfuscation
to reduce attackers’ efficiency, and the contexts in which such an efficiency may vary. This paper reports the outcome of two controlled experiments meant to measure the ability of subjects to understand and modify decompiled, obfuscated Java code, compared to
decompiled, clear code. Results quantify to what extent code obfuscation is able to make attacks more difficult to be performed, and reveal that obfuscation can mitigate the effect of factors that can alter the likelihood of a successful attack, such as the attackers’ skill and experience, or the intrinsic characteristics of the system under attack.

Keywordssoftware system security; computer security
Year2009
Conference17th IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension (ICPC-09)
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY-ND
Publication dates
PrintMay 2009
Publication process dates
Deposited30 Mar 2010
ISSN1063-6897
Web address (URL)http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICPC.2009.5090041
http://hdl.handle.net/10552/691
Additional information

Citation:
Ceccato, M. et al. (2009) ‘The Effectiveness of Source Code Obfuscation: an Experimental Assessment’ In: 17th IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension (ICPC-09), Vancouver (Canada) May 17-19, 2009, IEEE pp. 178 - 187.

Place of publication2009
Page range178 - 187
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https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/863vz

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