A HOLISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS ROBUST AND

ADAPTIVE SOFTWARE PROTECTION IN EVOLVING

ATTACK LANDSCAPES

Introduction:

The digital landscape increasingly relies on software, and its

vulnerabilities pose significant risks to individuals, organizations, and
national security. While software protection mechanisms exist, their
effectiveness is constantly challenged by evolving attack techniques and
the growing complexity of software systems. From traditional reverse
engineering and piracy to sophisticated malware and AI-driven attacks,
robust protection mechanisms have become more critical than ever.
According to the most recent BSA Global Software Survey on Software
Piracy (BSA Global Software Survey), 37% of software installed on
computers worldwide in 2017 was not officially licensed, resulting in
$46 billion in losses. When software apps run on a device under the
attackers’ control, they can be victims of software piracy, which is
typically accomplished through Man-At-The-End (MATE) attacks (P.
Falcarin et al., 2011), in which attackers use reverse engineering tools to
analyze and modify the code in order to use it in unauthorized ways,
such as removing license checks or illegally duplicating copyrighted
material. Such attacks consist of tampering to compromise the software's
integrity in an illegal manner and reverse engineering to steal sensitive

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assets. Attackers might target the defenses along their attack path, even
though their ultimate goal is to obtain the initial assets. In addition, code
obfuscation is a widely used strategy by developers to protect the
software by increasing the complexity of the code in order to impede the
reverse engineering process.

In related fields, such as network security, models exist that are

consistently used in practice to assess the overall level of protection. In
the domain of software protection, we also desperately need such models
and similar levels of standardization to collect knowledge. The reason is
simple: deploying protections is highly complex all pertinent and
available information about the relationships between the pertinent
aspects of protections, attacks, applications, and assets needs to be
gathered, organized, and formalized in order to enable both humans and
tools to reason about the strength of available protections against
potential attacks on concrete applications or to assess the true strength of
layered protections.

This research proposal outlines a comprehensive investigation

into the current state of software protection, exploring emerging threats,
evaluating existing solutions, and proposing novel strategies for robust
and adaptable software security.

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Background:

The software landscape has undergone a paradigm shift in recent

years. We have transitioned from isolated desktop applications to a
dynamic world of interconnected systems, cloud-based services, and
popular mobile devices. This hyperconnectivity brings immense
benefits, but also exposes new vulnerabilities and challenges for
software protection.

Traditional methods like code obfuscation and encryption are

increasingly ineffective against sophisticated attacks and reverse
engineering techniques. Malware authors leverage advanced AI and
automation tools to exploit vulnerabilities and bypass security measures.
The rise of open-source software and collaborative development models
adds complexities to the protection landscape. While new technologies
offer innovative approaches to protect the software, the complexity and
sophistication of cyberattacks necessitate continuous adaptation and
improvement. Therefore, corporations must understand and mitigate the
impacts of AI hackers if they are to maintain strong software security
against increasingly sophisticated threats (Tabrizchi et al., 2020;
Khadragy et al., 2022). The sustainability of software protection is
analyzed in this review with regard to the implemented cybersecurity

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practices in the investigated firms (Tabrizchi et al., 2020; Müssig et al.,
2021; Salloumet al., 2023).

Motivation and Problem Statement:

Existing software protection mechanisms largely focus on

individual aspects like code obfuscation, intrusion detection, or runtime
monitoring. However, these approaches suffer from several limitations:

Evolving Threats: Cybercriminals are constantly developing new attack

vectors, exploiting vulnerabilities in traditional security measures.
Malware, reverse engineering, piracy, and intellectual property theft
continue to pose significant threats.

Dynamic approaches: Runtime protection mechanisms, while offering

greater adaptability, can incur performance overhead and introduce
compatibility issues.

Integration Challenges: Implementing robust security solutions across

diverse platforms and software architectures can be complex and time-
consuming.

User Experience Impact: Security measures should not compromise

user experience or performance. Overly intrusive or resource-intensive
solutions can deter users and hinder software adoption.

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Lack of Proactive Defense: Current software protection methods are
generally reactive, focusing on detecting and mitigating attacks after
they occur. As a result, systems are prone to exploitation, and attackers
have the advantage.

This fragmented landscape required a holistic approach that

integrates diverse defensive mechanisms for proactive, multi-layered
software protection. Existing solutions often address specific threats or
vulnerabilities, lacking a holistic view of the software ecosystem and its
diverse attack vectors. Due to the rapid advancement of attack,
techniques necessitate continuous adaptation and innovation in software
protection strategies. In addition, previous research and papers did not
focus sufficiently on supporting developers and practitioners of software
development processes in how to protect software. Therefore, it is
important to provide practical guidance and best practices to developers
and practitioners for avoiding or at least mitigating the attacks.

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Research Questions:

1. what are the current threats conducted by the attackers to target the
software and its code?

2. What are the latest methods for protecting the software? Can we rely
on them to face the current threats?

3. How can we keep up with the rapid development of attack techniques

to protect the software?

4. How do we support the developers to protect the software during and

after the software development process?

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Research Objectives:

1. Identify and analyze emerging threats: Investigate the latest trends

in cyberattacks and vulnerabilities specific to software.

2. Evaluate existing software protection solutions: Assess the

strengths and limitations of current approaches, including code
obfuscation, encryption, tamper detection, and license management.

3. Explore novel protection strategies: Investigate and propose

innovative methods for software protection, leveraging emerging
technologies.

4. Provide recommendations for software developers: Offer practical

guidance and best practices for implementing robust and adaptable
software protection.

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Expected Outcomes:

This research is expected to produce valuable outcomes:

 A comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape of

software threats, vulnerabilities, and the role of AI in cyberattacks.
 An evaluation of existing software protection solutions and
identification of their limitations.
 Novel and adaptable strategies for software protection, leveraging
emerging technologies.
 Recommendations for software developers and security
practitioners to improve software security.

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Conclusion:

Software protection is an essential aspect of ensuring the

security, integrity, and functionality of software in today's dynamic
environment. By understanding the available techniques, the dynamic
threat landscape, and the crucial role of continuous adaptation, software
developers and security professionals can safeguard the integrity and
value of their code, protecting creativity, innovation, and trust in the
digital world. This research proposal aims a comprehensive investigation
into the current state of software protection, aiming to develop
innovative and adaptable solutions for a safer and more secure software
ecosystem. Also, to support the developers in protecting the software,
we provide helpful recommendations and best practices for
implementing robust and adaptable software protection.

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References:

BSA, “Business Software Alliance BSA global software survey 2017,”

https://gss.bsa.org/, 2018, [Online; accessed 20-January-2019].

P. Falcarin, C. Collberg, M. Atallah, and M. Jakubowski, “Guest

Editors’ Introduction: Software Protection,” IEEE Software, vol. 28,

no. 2, pp. 24–27, 2011. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/

document/5720710/

Tabrizchi, H., & Kuchaki Rafsanjani, M. (2020). A survey on security challenges in cloud computing:
issues, threats, and solutions. The journal of supercomputing, 76(12), 9493-9532.

Müssig, S., Reichstein, J., Prieschl, J., Wintzheimer, S., & Mandel, K. (2021). A Single Magnetic Particle
with Nearly Unlimited Encoding Options. Small, 17(28), 2101588.

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