U.S. patent application number 14/935230 was filed with the patent office on 2016-05-12 for secure application distribution systems and methods.
The applicant listed for this patent is Intertrust Technologies Corporation. Invention is credited to Gilles BOCCON-GIBOD, Stephen G. MITCHELL.
Application Number | 20160132317 14/935230 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55912276 |
Filed Date | 2016-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160132317 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MITCHELL; Stephen G. ; et
al. |
May 12, 2016 |
Secure Application Distribution Systems and Methods
Abstract
Systems and methods are described that use software
diversification techniques to improve the security of mobile
applications. Embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods may,
among other things, facilitate secure application distribution
through deployment of diverse of applications in an application
distribution channel. Software diversification consistent with
certain disclosed embodiments may mitigate large-scale automated
circumvention of security protections by presenting attacking
malware moving and/or otherwise unpredictable diverse targets.
Inventors: |
MITCHELL; Stephen G.; (Ben
Lomond, CA) ; BOCCON-GIBOD; Gilles; (San Francisco,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Intertrust Technologies Corporation |
Sunnyvale |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55912276 |
Appl. No.: |
14/935230 |
Filed: |
November 6, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62076354 |
Nov 6, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
717/170 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 8/60 20130101; G06F
8/71 20130101; G06F 21/125 20130101; H04W 4/60 20180201 |
International
Class: |
G06F 9/445 20060101
G06F009/445; G06F 9/44 20060101 G06F009/44; H04W 4/00 20060101
H04W004/00 |
Claims
1. A method for generating and distributing diverse application
instances performed by a system comprising a processor and a
non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing
instructions that, when executed, cause the system to perform the
method, the method comprising: generating a first instance of an
application; transmitting the first instance of the application to
an application store system for distribution to one or more user
devices; generating a second instance of the application, the
second instance of the application being different, at least in
part, than the first instance of the application; accessing a
policy associated with a release of the second instance of the
application to the application store system; and transmitting the
second instance of the application to the application store system
at a time determined based on the accessed policy, the second
instance of the application being configured to replace the first
instance of the application in the application store system for
distribution to the one or more user devices.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the first instance of
the application comprises embedding code in the application unique
to the first instance of the application.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the code is embedded in a
subcomponent of the application.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the first instance of
the application comprises embedding data in the application unique
to the first instance of the application.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data is embedded in a
subcomponent of the application.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the embedded data comprises at
least one of a key, a nonce, and random salt data.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the second instance of
the application comprises embedding code in the application unique
to the second instance of the application.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the code is embedded in a
subcomponent of the application.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the second instance of
the application comprises embedding data in the application unique
to the second instance of the application.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data is embedded in a
subcomponent of the application.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the embedded data comprises at
least one of a key, a nonce, and random salt data.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy associated with the
release of the second instance of the application specifies an
instance release time period following transmission of the first
instance of the application to the application store system and the
determined time is based on the instance release time period.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy associated with the
release of the second instance of the application specifies a
randomly determined release time period and the determined time is
randomly determined.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
62/076,354, filed Nov. 6, 2014, and entitled "SECURE APPLICATION
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS", which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
COPYRIGHT AUTHORIZATION
[0002] Portions of the disclosure of this patent document may
contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The
copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by
anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it
appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or
records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights
whatsoever.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to systems and
methods for distributing secure software applications. More
specifically, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates
to systems and methods that use software diversification techniques
in connection with generating and distributing secure software
applications.
[0004] Software applications, including mobile software
applications, may be targeted in a variety of attacks. For example,
mobile software applications may be targeted in man-at-the-end
attacks--attacks against mobile applications from device-resident
malware. Maintaining mobile application security may be important
to a variety of value chain stakeholders, including device users
and other transaction participants. Implementing digital rights
management ("DRM") in connection with controlled media applications
may help improve application security, and DRM and/or other
security methods may be further used in connection with
applications involving advertising, payments, and/or other types of
value exchange. Secure device hardware may be used to strengthen
device security, but such hardware might not be universally
deployed across devices.
[0005] Systems and methods disclosed herein may use software
diversification methods to improve the security of mobile
applications. Embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods may,
among other things, facilitate secure application distribution
through deployment of diverse applications in an application
distribution channel. Software diversification consistent with
certain disclosed embodiments may mitigate large-scale automated
circumvention of security protections by presenting attacking
malware with moving and/or otherwise unpredictable diverse targets,
akin in certain aspects to a reverse of the strategy used by
polymorphic malware in evading anti-virus tools. Consistent with
embodiments disclosed herein, applications may be different in
their implementation from device to device (i.e., different users
may receive different implementations of a single application
version), thereby frustrating the deployment of effective malware.
In certain embodiments, diversity between applications may be
achieved by enabling application stores to distribute various
diverse instances of an application to various devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The inventive body of work will be readily understood by
referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates deployment of diverse mobile software
applications consistent with embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates a process of generating and distributing
diverse secure mobile software applications consistent with
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates generation and deployment of mobile
software application instances to an application store for
distribution to devices consistent with embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates generation and deployment of mobile
software application instances by an application store consistent
with embodiments disclosed herein.
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates personalization of a mobile application
by a device using a personalization service consistent with
embodiments disclosed herein.
[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates personalization of a mobile application
by a device consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.
[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of a mobile application
build and deployment process consistent with embodiments disclosed
herein.
[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates a system that may be used to implement
certain embodiments of the systems and methods of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] A detailed description of systems and methods consistent
with embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. While
several embodiments are described, it should be understood that the
disclosure is not limited to any one embodiment, but instead
encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
In addition, while numerous specific details are set forth in the
following description in order to provide a thorough understanding
of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments can be
practiced without some or all of these details. Moreover, for the
purpose of clarity, certain technical material that is known in the
related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid
unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.
[0016] Some embodiments of the disclosure may be understood by
reference to the drawings, wherein like parts may be designated by
like numerals. The components of the disclosed embodiments, as
generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be
arranged and designed in a wide variety of different
configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of certain
illustrative embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the
disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible
embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, the steps of any method
disclosed herein do not necessarily need to be executed in any
specific order, or even sequentially, nor need the steps be
executed only once, unless otherwise specified.
[0017] Embodiments of the system and methods disclosed herein may
employ software diversification in connection with mobile
application generation and distribution. In some embodiments,
software diversification may be used to alter a software
application (e.g., altering an executable binary) in various ways
to create multiple instances of the application that, while
providing the same and/or similar functionality, to an attacker
appear different and/or operate differently (e.g., operate
differently on the binary level). Software diversification may
frustrate an attacker's attempts to exploit information gained from
one deployment of an application to compromise other deployments.
Although certain embodiments disclosed herein are discussed in
connection with diverse mobile applications and/or mobile devices,
it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments may be
further employed in connection with any other type of software
application diversification and/or systems or devices for
interacting with and/or executing the same.
[0018] In certain embodiments, the systems and methods described
herein can, for example, be used in connection with digital rights
management ("DRM") technologies such as that described in commonly
assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/583,693,
"Digital Rights Management Engine Systems and Methods," filed Oct.
18, 2006, and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0180519 ("the '693
application"), service orchestration and DRM technologies such as
those described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,387,
"Interoperable Systems and Methods for Peer-to-Peer Service
Orchestration" ("the '387 patent"), (the contents of '693
application and the '387 patent being hereby incorporated by
reference in their entireties), as well as in other contexts.
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates deployment of a diverse mobile software
application 100 to a mobile device 102 consistent with embodiments
of the present disclosure. In certain embodiments, a mobile
software application 100 may be generated by an application
developer system 104 and uploaded to an application store system
106 for distribution to one or more mobile devices 102. In other
embodiments, the application developer system 104 may not be
directly used to generate the mobile application 100, but may be a
system used by and/or otherwise associated with an application
developer for use in connection with uploading the mobile
application 100 to the application store system 106 for
distribution. As discussed in more detail below, the application
developer system 104 may continuously and/or periodically upload a
plurality of diverse instances of the mobile application 100 to the
application store system 106 for distribution to one or more mobile
devices 102, thereby reducing the potential for a successful attack
against the application 100 across multiple devices.
[0020] The application developer system 104, application store
system 106, mobile devices 102, and/or other systems (not shown)
used in connection with the disclosed embodiments may comprise any
suitable computing system or combination of systems configured to
implement embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein.
In certain embodiments, the application developer system 104,
application store system 106, mobile device 102, and/or other
systems providers may comprise at least one processor system
configured to execute instructions stored on an associated
non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. As discussed in
more detail below, the application developer system 104,
application store system 106, mobile device 102, and/or other
systems may further comprise a secure processing unit ("SPU")
configured to perform sensitive operations such as trusted
credential and/or key management, secure policy management, and/or
other aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein. In
certain embodiments, the application developer system 104,
application store system 106, mobile device 102, and/or other
systems may comprise a laptop computer system, a desktop computer
system, a server computer system, a smartphone, a tablet computer,
and/or any other computing system and/or device that may be used in
connection with the disclosed systems and methods.
[0021] The application developer system 104, application store
system 106, mobile device 102, and/or other systems may further
comprise software and/or hardware configured to enable electronic
communication of information between the devices and/or systems
102-106 via one or more associated network connections (e.g.,
network 108). The network connections may comprise a variety of
network communication devices and/or channels and may use any
suitable communication protocols and/or standards facilitating
communication between the connected devices and systems. For
example, in some embodiments the network 108 may comprise the
Internet, a local area network, a virtual private network, and/or
any other communication network utilizing one or more electronic
communication technologies and/or standards (e.g., Ethernet and/or
the like). In some embodiments, the network connections may
comprise a wireless carrier system such as a personal
communications system ("PCS"), and/or any other suitable
communication system incorporating any suitable communication
standards and/or protocols. In further embodiments, the network
connections may comprise an analog mobile communications network
and/or a digital mobile communications network utilizing, for
example, code division multiple access ("CDMA"), Global System for
Mobile Communications or Groupe Special Mobile ("GSM"), frequency
division multiple access ("FDMA"), and/or time divisional multiple
access ("TDMA") standards. In certain embodiments, the network
connections may incorporate one or more satellite communication
links. In yet further embodiments, the network connections may use
IEEE's 802.11 standards, Bluetooth.RTM., ultra-wide band ("UWB"),
Zigbee.RTM., and or any other suitable communication
protocol(s).
[0022] The application developer system 104 may comprise a
computing device executing one or more applications configured to
implement certain embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed
herein. In certain embodiments, the application developer system
104 may be used by a developer to code, compile, and/or otherwise
generate a mobile application 100 and/or a particular instance of
the mobile application (e.g., a unique instance or the like). In
other embodiments, the application developer system 104 may be used
to manage one or more mobile applications generated using a
separate system (not shown). In some embodiments, applications
and/or instances thereof, described in more detail below, may be
stored and/or otherwise managed by the application developer system
104 in an application database 110.
[0023] The application developer system 104 may be configured to
diversify distributed mobile applications 100 by generating a
plurality of instances of the mobile application 100 that, in
certain embodiments, may be unique instances. In certain
embodiments, diversified application instances may have the same
and/or similar functionality but may be altered in such a way that
to an attacker (e.g., malware or the like) they appear to be
different and/or operate differently.
[0024] As discussed in more detail below, diversity in applications
may be introduced at a variety of times in the application
generation and/or build process to create various application
instances. For example, diversity may be introduced during coding
of an application, at various stages of compilation of the
application, and/or during a provisioning and/or personalization
process. In certain embodiments, diverse application instances may
be generated by an application instance generation engine 112
executing on the application developer system 104. A variety of
types of software diversification may be used in connection with
the disclosed embodiments including, without limitation, data
diversification and/or code diversification. In certain
embodiments, both data diversification and code diversification may
be employed in connection with generating diverse software
instances.
[0025] Embodiments employing data diversification may embed certain
data values referenced by application code that vary among
different instances of the same application. As an example, the
application instance generation engine 112 may embed different
cryptographic keys across various application instances configured
to encrypt information stored on an executing device or that
excerpts other keys imported into the application. Even if an
attacker managed to extract the cryptographic key embedded in a
particular application instance, the attacker could not use the
extracted key to decrypt certain secret information included in
other application instances. In certain embodiments, data
diversification may be introduced by injecting unique and/or
otherwise personalized data values into program code (e.g., binary
image code) during code compilation and/or deployment. Data values
introduced as part of data diversification methods consistent with
the disclosed embodiments may further include, without limitation,
keys, nonces, salt, white-box cryptography ("WBC") data structures,
homomorphic encryption including fully homomorphic encryption
("FHE") data structures, and/or other randomly generated
cryptographic information.
[0026] In some embodiments, a secure key provisioned as part of a
data diversification process may be stored by in a protected
processing environment such as a secure key box. In certain
embodiments, a secure key box may be configured to protect the
secrecy and/or integrity of the secure key. The secure key box may
further protect software code used in connection with secure
computations performed by an associated device using code digests
and/or any other verifiable computing techniques.
[0027] In some embodiments, the secure key box may use white-box
cryptographic and/or homomorphic encryption methods (e.g., FHE
methods) that allow the secure key to remain encrypted, even during
execution of associated cryptographic methods. In certain
embodiments, the secure key box may enable the secure key to be
stored and/or used in connection with cryptographic methods without
exposing the secure key in clear text. For example, in some
embodiments, the secure key box may allow storage and/or use of the
secure key without exposing the secure key in code and/or in memory
of a device 102 having an open architecture. In certain
embodiments, a secure key box may be implemented separately and/or
in connection with a hardware-isolated secure enclave and/or a more
traditional secure hardware element (e.g., a subscriber identity
module ("SIM") chip and/or a smart card chip) for use in connection
key operations.
[0028] The secure key box may be used in connection with both
static keys and/or encrypted dynamic keys that may be loaded and/or
decrypted at run time. In further embodiments, separate secure key
boxes associated with different devices may store and/or operate on
secure keys using different encryption formats. In certain
embodiments, a secure key box may enable protection of secure keys
and/or computations performed using the same without the use of
dedicated security hardware included in a device 102.
[0029] In some embodiments, secure information such as, for
example, the secure key may be encrypted when transmitted out of a
secure key box. In certain embodiments, the secure key may be
managed by a personalization service, described in more detail
below, in a separate secure key box operating thereon (not shown).
When transmitted from the secure key box of the personalization
service as part of a personalization process of an application, the
secure key box of the personalization service may encrypt the
secure key with a common export key shared with the secure key box
of the device 102. In some embodiments, the secure key may be
encrypted with a shared symmetric key and/or a public asymmetric
key. Upon receipt by the client device 102, the secure key box of
the device 102 may decrypt the received encrypted secure key using
the common export key for use in connection cryptographic
methods.
[0030] Embodiments employing code diversification may introduce
varied instructions (e.g., binary instructions) between different
application instances and/or between separate sets of application
instances. In certain embodiments, code diversification may be
introduced using methods to improve the tamper-resistance of a
software application including, without limitation, code
obfuscation, instruction set randomization, integrity protection,
junk code insertion, code expansion, and/or virtualization. In some
embodiments, a subset and/or component of an application may
include diversified code across various instances of the
application. For example, sensitive parts of application code may
include diversified code across instances (e.g., cryptographic
routines and/or components or the like). In other embodiments, code
diversification may be employed across an entire application
executable.
[0031] In certain embodiments, diversified applications 100 may
include information identifying a particular instance of the
application and/or version of the application. For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 1, a mobile application 100 may comprise an
instance ID 116 and a version ID 118. Consistent with embodiments
disclosed herein, a plurality of application instances (e.g.,
applications having different instance IDs 116) may be associated
with a particular version ID 118, and various application instances
and/or versions may be managed together and/or separately in
accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, the
instance ID 116 associated with a particular application may be
used by a developer post-deployment in connection with application
diagnosis, error reporting, and/or the like.
[0032] An instance of a mobile application 100 may be uploaded by
the application developer system 104 to the application store
system 106 for distribution to one or more mobile devices 102. The
application store system 106 may include an application store
database 120 storing one or more mobile applications and/or
instances thereof. An application store engine 122 may be
configured to manage requests from mobile devices 100, uploading
operations from developer systems 104, and/or otherwise coordinate
the downloading of applications 100 to mobile devices 102 and other
operations of the application store system 106.
[0033] In certain embodiments, the upload of the mobile application
100 to the application store system 106 may be managed by an
application distribution module 114 executing on the application
developer system 104. The application distribution module 114 may
employ a variety of possible uploading methodologies with respect
to varied application instances that, in some embodiments, may be
articulated in an application diversification schedule and/or
policy. For example, in some embodiments, a first software
application instance may be initially uploaded to the application
store system 106. After a particular period of time has elapsed
(e.g., an hour, a day, a week, etc.), a second software application
instance replacing the first software application instance may be
uploaded to the application store system 106. Based on the time
when mobile devices (e.g., mobile device 102) download the
application from the application store system 106, the mobile
devices will receive different instances of the application (e.g.,
the first or second instance), thereby facilitating application
diversity across a number of devices.
[0034] Application diversification policies may further employ
other time-based diversification schedules. For example, a
diversification schedule may facilitate continuous uploading of
various application instances to the application store system 106
by the developer system 104 at a variety of suitable fixed time
frequencies and/or based on an irregular or otherwise random
pattern. Diversification policies and/or schedules may, in addition
and/or in alternative to being time-based, be based on geographic
and/or device parameters. For example, varied application instances
may be uploaded to the application store system 106 for
distribution to devices located in different geographic regions.
Similarly, varied application instances may be uploaded to the
application store system 106 for deployment to varied types of
devices, device models, individual serialized devices, and/or the
like. It will be appreciated that a wide variety of application
diversification schedules and/or policies may be used in connection
with the disclosed systems and methods, and that the disclosed
embodiments may employ any suitable schedule and/or policy that
results in differentiation between application instances across
multiple devices.
[0035] Certain application store systems 106 may require that an
application 100 be inspected and/or otherwise tested for compliance
with one or more requirements prior to distribution to devices 102.
For example, after an application 100 is initially uploaded to the
application store system 106, the system 106 may inspect and/or
test the application 100 for compliance with certain security
requirements. New versions of the application 100 uploaded to the
application store system 106 may be similarly tested and/or
inspected.
[0036] In some embodiments, applications 100 may be diversified
such that various instances of the application do not need to be
individually inspected and/or tested for compliance with
application store system 106 requirements. In certain embodiments,
this may be achieved by introducing diversity (e.g., code and/or
data diversity) into portions of an application's code that are not
tested and/or otherwise inspected by the application store system
106. In some embodiments, this may streamline the process of
uploading various application instances 100 to the application
store system 106 and reduce the burden on the application store
system 106 to inspect and/or test each instance.
[0037] Certain application store systems 106 may be configured to
push updates of an application to certain devices 102 when a new
version of an application 100 is uploaded to the application store
system 106. In embodiments employing time-based diversification
policies and/or schedules for release of various application
instances, such a push and/or pull update of a new application
version may undesirably result in a large number of devices 102
being updated with the same application instance (e.g., the initial
instance of the new application version). Accordingly, in some
embodiments, release of new versions to certain devices 102 may be
delayed following an initial version release (e.g., randomly
delayed, delayed according to a particular schedule, etc.) such
that devices receive varied application instances of the new
application version in connection with application updates. In some
embodiments, diversity may be introduced in connection with
software updates and/or new version updates to ensure updates
and/or new versions comprise diverse and/or otherwise unique
instances of the application 100.
[0038] It will be appreciated that a number of variations can be
made to the architecture and relationships presented in connection
with FIG. 1 within the scope of the inventive body of work. For
example, without limitation, in some embodiments, some or all of
the functions performed by the application developer system 104 may
be performed by the application store system 106. Similarly, some
or all of the functions performed by the application store system
106 may be performed by the application developer system 104. Thus
it will be appreciated that FIG. 1 is provided for purposes of
illustration and explanation, and not limitation.
[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates a process of generating and distributing
diverse secure mobile software applications consistent with
embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the
application developer system 104 may generate a first instance of a
mobile application ("Mobile Application Instance 1") using any
suitable method of introducing diversity between various
application instances (e.g., code diversification, data
diversification, code obfuscation, etc.). The first instance may be
uploaded to an application store system 106 for deployment to one
or more mobile devices 102a, 102b. In certain embodiments,
uploading of the first instance may be based, at least in part, on
an articulated application diversification schedule and/or
policy.
[0040] After the first application instance has been uploaded to
the application store system 106, a mobile device 102a may issue a
request to download and/or otherwise install the application. In
response to this request, the application store system 106 may
transmit the first instance of the application to the mobile device
102a. Upon receipt of the first instance, the mobile device 102a
may perform an installation process to install the application on
the device 102a.
[0041] An application diversification schedule and/or policy
associated with a particular application may articulate that new
application instances should be generated by the application
developer system 104 and uploaded to the application store system
106 according to a time-based schedule (e.g., following a fixed
and/or randomly determined release period between instance releases
or the like). Accordingly, at the completion of an instance release
period, the application developer system 104 may generate a second
instance of a mobile application ("Mobile Application Instance 2")
using any suitable method of introducing diversity between various
application instances and may upload the second instance to the
application store 106 for deployment to requesting mobile devices
102a, 102b.
[0042] Once uploaded, the second application instance may replace
the first application instance in the application store system 106.
Accordingly, a mobile device 102b issuing a request to download
and/or otherwise install the application after the second
application instance has been uploaded to the application store
system 106 may receive the second instance of the application in
response to the request for installation. In this manner, based on
the mobile devices 102a and 102b having requested the application
from the application store system 106 at different times, the
devices 102a, 102b may receive different instances of the
application, thereby providing application diversity between the
devices 102a, 102b installing the deployed applications and
improving their associated security.
[0043] FIG. 3 illustrates generation and deployment of mobile
software application instances to an application store for
distribution to devices consistent with embodiments of the present
disclosure. In certain embodiments, in lieu of and/or in addition
to uploading a single instance of an application to an application
store system 106 at a particular time (e.g., based on an instance
release schedule and/or policy or the like), the application
developer system 106 and/or an application instance generation
engine 112 executing thereon may generate a plurality of diverse
application instances 300 and upload the plurality of diverse
application instances 300 to the application store system 106.
[0044] Application instances 300 uploaded to the application store
system 106 may be included and/or managed in an application store
database 120. When the application store system 106 receives a
request from a mobile device 102 to download the application, the
application store system 106 may select and transmit an instance of
the application from the plurality of application instances 300
included in the database 120. In some embodiments, the particular
instance may be selected from the plurality of instances 300 based
on a diversification policy and/or schedule. For example, a
time-based diversification policy, a location-based diversification
policy, and/or a device-based diversification policy may be used in
connection with selecting and/or distributing a particular
application instance 100 of the plurality of instances 300. In some
embodiments, the selection and/or distribution of the application
instance 100 may be performed using, at least in part, an
application distribution module 114 executing on the application
store system 106.
[0045] As an example, in some embodiments, the application store
system 106 may distribute a first application instance 100 from the
plurality of instances 300 to requesting devices 102 for a certain
instance release period), and then continuously cycle through
distributing different applicant instances of the plurality during
subsequent instance release periods. In another example, the
application store system 106 may distribute application instances
100 from the plurality of application instances 300 that are unique
to each requesting device 102. The application store system 106 may
further randomly distribute application instances 100 from the
plurality of instances 300 to requesting devices 102. In yet
another example, the application store system 106 may distribute a
first application instance 100 from the plurality of instances 300
to requesting devices 102 included in a first geographic region,
and distribute different instances to requesting devices located in
other regions.
[0046] In certain embodiments, by implementing instance selection
and/or determination decisions using the application store system
106, greater diversity of deployed instances 100 may be achieved as
more granular instance selection determinations may be made based
on a particular requesting device 102. In addition, the burden on
the application developer system 104 and/or the application store
system 106 associated with continuously uploading new instances for
distribution may be reduced. Similarly, the burden of frequent
inspection and/or otherwise testing of application instance
compliance with store requirements may be reduced, as all and/or a
subset of the plurality of instances 300 may be inspected and/or
tested for compliance as a group, thereby streamlining the
inspection and/or testing process.
[0047] FIG. 4 illustrates generation and deployment of mobile
software application instances by an application store system 106
consistent with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments,
the application store system 106 may be configured to generate
diverse application instances 100 for distribution to mobile
devices based on information provided by the application software
developer system 104 (e.g., an undiversified application 400 or the
like).
[0048] Diversity in applications may be introduced at a variety of
times in the application 100 generation and/or build process to
create various application instances. For example, diversity may be
introduced during coding of an application, at various stages of
compilation of the application, and/or during a provisioning and/or
personalization process, certain aspects of which may be performed
by the application store system 106. In certain embodiments,
diverse application instances may be generated by an application
instance generation engine 112 executing on the application store
system 104 employing any of the types of software diversification
methods disclosed herein.
[0049] In certain embodiments, the application store system 106
and/or an instance generation engine 112 executing thereon may be
configured to generate application instances 100 by including
diversified code and/or data in certain components and/or portions
of the application. For example, in some embodiments, diverse
instances 100 may be generated by including diverse code between
multiple instances in a particular component of an application. In
further embodiments, diverse instances may be generated by
including certain diverse data such as a cryptographic key or the
like between multiple instances of the application. In certain
embodiments, diversifying a subset and/or a component of an
application rather than an entire application may reduce the burden
on the application store system 106 in connection with generating
diverse instances 100.
[0050] In further embodiments, the application store system 106
and/or the instance generation engine 112 executing thereon may be
configured to perform a portion of a build process for an
application to generate a diversified instance 100 of the
application. In such embodiments, the application developer system
104 may transmit information (e.g., undiversified application
information 400) to the application store system 106 used to
complete a build process for the application to generate an
associated application instance 100. In some embodiments, the
application developer system 104 may further transmit instructions
and/or preferences for introducing diversity to the application
store system 106 and/or to safeguard application performance and/or
user experience requirements.
[0051] As an example, the application developer system 104 may
transmit application information 400 to the application store
system 106 that comprises application bit code and/or an
intermediate representation of the application. Using the
application information 400, the application store system 106
and/or the instance generation engine 112 may perform bit code
obfuscation to diversify the bit code and/or the intermediate
representation of the application. The application store system 106
may then perform a back end compilation process on the application
bit code and/or intermediate representation to generate a machine
code representation of the application which may be used to
generate an executable application instance 100 for transmission to
requesting mobile devices 102. In certain embodiments, generation
of the application instance 100 and/or the bit code obfuscation
and/or backend compilation process may be performed in response to
receiving a request from a mobile device 102 to download the
application (i.e., just-in-time ("JIT") instance generation).
[0052] In certain embodiments, generating diverse application
instances at the application store system 106 may allow for
individualized and/or otherwise serialized unique application
instances to be generated for individual requesting devices 102.
For example, in some embodiments, serialized and/or otherwise
unique information associated with a requesting device 102 may be
used by the application store system 106 in connection with
generating a diverse application instance 100. In further
embodiments, serialized and/or otherwise unique information
associated with a user of a requesting device (e.g., user account,
registration, and/or authentication data) may be used by the
application store system 106 in connection with generating diverse
application instances 100.
[0053] In some embodiments, an application distribution module 114
executing on the application store system 106 may be configured to
manage the generation and/or distribution of unique application
instances 100 to requesting devices 102 (e.g., based on an
associated diversification policy and/or schedule or the like).
Generating diverse application instances 100 at the application
store system 106 may further reduce the burden of generation and/or
uploading a plurality of application instances by the application
developer system 104, and may further streamline application and/or
testing processes performed by the application store system
106.
[0054] FIG. 5 illustrates personalization of a mobile application
502 by a device 102 using a personalization service 500 consistent
with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, diversity
in an application may be introduced by a device 102 after
downloading the application 502 from the application store system
106 through a personalization and/or provisioning process.
[0055] As illustrated, an application developer system 104 may
provide the application store system 106 with a mobile application
502 configured to be personalized during and/or following
installation of the application 502 on a device 102. After
downloading the application 502 from the application store system
106 and during and/or following the installation of the application
502, the mobile device 102 may issue a personalization request 506
to a personalization service 500, which may comprise any suitable
computer system configured to implement application personalization
methods consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In response to
the personalization request 506, the personalization service 500
may generate and/or access personalization information 508 and
transmit the personalization information 508 to the mobile device
102. The personalization information 508 may include any suitable
information for use in connection with generating a unique
application instance including, for example, code patches, keys,
data values, user account information, user registration
information, and/or the like. The mobile device 102 may use the
personalization information 508 to generate a personalized and/or
otherwise diversified instance of the application 504 for execution
on the device 102. For example, using the personalization
information 508, the mobile device 102 may embed and/or otherwise
reference certain data values unique to the instance of the
application 504, thereby introducing data diversity to the
application 504.
[0056] In at least one example, following receipt of a mobile
application from the application store system 106, the mobile
device 102 may request the personalization service 500 to generate
and provide a unique key used for use in connection with
cryptographic operations performed by the mobile application. The
personalization service 500 may generate the key and return it to
the mobile device 102. Upon receipt, the mobile device 102 may
provision the cryptographic components of the mobile application
with the key to generate a diversified application instance
504.
[0057] In some embodiments, when diversity is introduced by the
mobile device 102 through a personalization and/or provisioning
process, certain security measures may be taken to reduce the
potential for the application 504 to be compromised by an attack.
For example, code patches included in personalization information
508 may be signed and signature verification may be strongly
enforced by the device 102. In further embodiments, the mobile
device 102 may comprise a hardware-enforced secured environment for
code loading and/or personalization of the application 502 to
generate a diversified application instanced 504. Various software
code protection techniques to protect diversity mechanisms may
further be delivered directly to the device 102 to improve security
of the personalization process. Introducing diversity at the mobile
device 102 may, among other things, reduce the burden on the
application developer system 104 and/or application store system
106 of application instance generation and/or applying schedules or
policy associated with distribution of various application
instances.
[0058] FIG. 6 illustrates personalization of a mobile application
600 by a mobile device 102 consistent with embodiments disclosed
herein. In certain embodiments, personalization information 602 may
be generated and/or otherwise accessed by an application developer
system 104 and/or an application store system 106. The
personalization information 602 may be downloaded to the mobile
device 102 from the application store system 104 together with
and/or separately from the mobile application 600.
[0059] In some embodiments, the personalization information 602 may
include information to personalize and/or otherwise diversify a
single instance of an application. For example, the personalization
information 602 may comprise a key used to diversify cryptographic
components of an application instance. In other embodiments, the
personalization information 602 may include information that may be
used to generate a plurality of application instances 604. As part
of a personalization and/or diversification process to generate an
application instance, a subset of the information included in the
personalization information 602 may be selected and used in
connection with a personalization process to generate a diversified
instance of the application 604. In certain embodiments, such a
process may be performed by a mobile application personalization
engine 606 executing on the mobile device 102.
[0060] In at least one example, the personalization information 602
may comprise a plurality of cryptographic keys. In connection with
a personalization and/or diversification process to generate an
application instance 604, the mobile application personalization
engine 606 may randomly select a cryptographic key of the plurality
of cryptographic keys and provision the cryptographic components of
the mobile application 600 with the selected cryptographic key to
generate a diversified application instance 604. In this manner, a
common library of personalization information 602 may be sent to a
number of mobile devices that may use information in the library to
generate a diversified and/or otherwise unique application instance
604.
[0061] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of a mobile application
build and deployment process 700 consistent with embodiments
disclosed herein. The illustrated process 700 may be implemented in
a variety of ways, including using software, firmware, hardware,
and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, various
aspects of the method 700 may be implemented by an application
developer system, an application store system, a mobile device, a
personalization service system, an update system, and/or any other
related system as described above. Certain embodiments included in
the illustrated process 700 may implement code diversity in
connection with generating diversified application instances. It
will be appreciated, however, that data diversity may be similarly
implemented in connection with the illustrated process. In
addition, it will be appreciated that a mobile application build
and deployment process may incorporate all of the elements of the
illustrated process 700 or a subset thereof, and may proceed in any
suitable order.
[0062] At 702, source code associated with an application may be
obfuscated using any suitable source code software obfuscation
technique. Front end compilation of the obfuscated application
source code may be performed at 704 to generate a bit code and/or
intermediate representation of the application code. Bit code
obfuscation methods may be performed at 706 that introduce
diversity into the particular application instance being built.
[0063] To ensure the obfuscation does not detrimentally alter the
expected functionality of the bit code, the bit code may be tested
at 708 to see if the bit code functions as expected. If the bit
code does not function as expected, the method 700 may proceed to
terminate. If the bit code functions as expected, the method 700
may proceed to 710, where back end compilation of the bit code
and/or intermediate representation code may be performed to
generate machine code. In certain embodiments, the back end
compilation and/or certain other subsequent steps may be performed
by an application store system prior to delivering the application
instance to the device.
[0064] Following back end compilation, linking of the machine code
may be performed at 712. Compilation may produce several object
files referring to code entry points and global variables by
symbolic address. A linker may be provided with some initial
required code entry points to build in, and may select which
dependent pieces of object code are to be used in the linking
operation. The linker may arrange how the object code is to be
loaded in an executable memory space, and may resolve symbolic
addresses to numerical addresses. The linker may further produce an
executable (e.g., machine code) program file and/or an executable
library (e.g., DLL or SO file). In some embodiments, program
dependencies that reside in dynamic libraries (e.g, DLL or SO) may
be resolved at load time or at run time by a linking loader, which
may be part of the target device's operating system.
[0065] At 714, the linked machine code may be obfuscated. As
detailed above, machine code obfuscation may examine the machine
code following linking and apply certain code transformations to
make the code difficult to reverse engineer and/or to foil static
analysis tools. Machine code patching may be performed at 716,
where certain changes to the executable application and/or its
accompanying resources may be applied. In certain embodiments,
patching may facilitate referencing of certain numerical code
addresses following obfuscation processes.
[0066] To ensure the obfuscation does not detrimentally alter the
expected functionality of the machine code, the machine may be
tested at 718 to see if the code functions as expected. If the code
does not function as expected, the method 700 may proceed to
terminate. If the code functions as expected, the method 700 may
proceed to 720, where the application may be packed for delivery to
devices.
[0067] The application may be downloaded by a device and unpacked
at 722. Although not illustrated, the application may further be
patched by the device after unpacking to introduce diversity to the
application. In some embodiments, the application may be tested by
the device at 724 to determine whether it functions as expected. If
the application does not function as expected, the method 700 may
proceed to terminate. If the application functions as expected, the
method 700 may proceed to 726, where the application may be
provisioned with certain information. For example, in some
embodiments, a personalization process may be performed to
provision the application with certain personalized information
(e.g., personalized keys or the like), thereby introducing further
diversity to the application.
[0068] FIG. 8 illustrates a system 800 that may be used to
implement certain embodiments of the systems and methods of the
present disclosure. The system 800 may comprise an application
developer system, an application store system, a mobile device, a
personalization service system, an update system, and/or any other
system configured to implement certain aspects the systems and
methods described herein. In certain embodiments, the system 800
may perform certain functions associated with an authentication
device, a trusted authority, and/or another related service as
disclosed herein.
[0069] As illustrated in FIG. 8, system 800 may include: a
processor 802; system memory 804, which may include high speed RAM,
non-volatile memory and/or one or more bulk non-volatile
computer-readable storage mediums (e.g., a hard disk, flash memory,
etc.) for storing programs and other data for use and execution by
the processor 802; an interface 816 (e.g., an input/output
interface) that may include a display and/or one or more input
devices such as, for example, a touchscreen, a keyboard, a mouse, a
track pad, and the like; a port 806 for interfacing with removable
memory 808 that may include one more diskettes, optical storage
mediums, and/or other computer-readable storage mediums (e.g.,
flash memory, thumb drives, USB dongles, compact discs, DVDs,
etc.); a network interface 810 for communicating with other systems
via a network 812 using one or more communication technologies; one
or more sensors 818 that may comprise one or more location sensors;
and one or more buses 832 for communicatively coupling the
aforementioned elements.
[0070] In certain embodiments, network 830 may comprise the
Internet, a local area network, a virtual private network, and/or
any other communication network utilizing one or more electronic
communication technologies and/or standards (e.g., Ethernet or the
like). In some embodiments, the network interface 810 and/or
network 830 may be part of a wireless carrier system, such as a
PCS, and/or any other suitable communication system incorporating
any suitable communication standards and/or protocols. In further
embodiments, the network interface 810 and/or network 830 may be
part of an analog mobile communications network and/or a digital
mobile communications network utilizing, for example, CDMA, GSM,
FDMA, and/or TDMA standards. In still further embodiments, the
network interface 810 and/or network 830 may incorporate one or
more satellite communication links and/or use IEEE's 802.11
standards, near-field communication, Bluetooth.RTM., UWB,
Zigbee.RTM., and or any other suitable standard or standards.
[0071] In some embodiments, the system 800 may, alternatively or in
addition, include a SPU 814 that is protected from tampering by a
user of system 800 or other entities by utilizing secure physical
and/or virtual security techniques. An SPU 814 can help enhance
and/or facilitate the security of sensitive operations such as
private management of secret or other secure information, and other
aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein. In certain
embodiments, the SPU 814 may operate in a logically secure
processing domain and be configured to protect and operate on
secret information. In some embodiments, the SPU 814 may include
internal memory storing executable instructions or programs
configured to enable to the SPU 814 to perform secure
operations.
[0072] The operation of system 800 may be generally controlled by
the processor 802 operating by executing software instructions and
programs stored in the system memory 804 (and/or other
computer-readable media, such as removable memory 808). The system
memory 804 may store a variety of executable programs or modules
for controlling the operation of the system 800. For example, the
system memory 804 may include an operating system ("OS") 820 that
may manage and coordinate, at least in part, system hardware
resources and provide for common services for execution of various
applications and a trust and privacy management system 822 for
implementing trust and privacy management functionality including
protection and/or management of secret information. The system
memory 804 may further include, without limitation, communication
software 824 configured to enable in part communication with and by
the system 800, applications 826 and/or an application store, an
application instance generation engine 112 configured to generate
diversified application instances, an application distribution
module 114, and/or any other information and/or applications
configured to implement embodiments of the systems and methods
disclosed herein.
[0073] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the
systems and methods described herein can be practiced with
computing devices similar or identical to that illustrated in FIG.
8, or with virtually any other suitable computing device, including
computing devices that do not possess some of the components shown
in FIG. 8 and/or computing devices that possess other components
that are not shown. Thus it should be appreciated that FIG. 8 is
provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.
[0074] The systems and methods disclosed herein are not inherently
related to any particular computer, electronic control unit, or
other apparatus and may be implemented by a suitable combination of
hardware, software, and/or firmware. Software implementations may
include one or more computer programs comprising executable
code/instructions that, when executed by a processor, may cause the
processor to perform a method defined at least in part by the
executable instructions. The computer program can be written in any
form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted
languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a
standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other
unit suitable for use in a computing environment. Further, a
computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or
on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple
sites and interconnected by a communication network. Software
embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product that
comprises a non-transitory storage medium configured to store
computer programs and instructions, that when executed by a
processor, are configured to cause the processor to perform a
method according to the instructions. In certain embodiments, the
non-transitory storage medium may take any form capable of storing
processor-readable instructions on a non-transitory storage medium.
A non-transitory storage medium may be embodied by a compact disk,
digital-video disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, flash memory,
integrated circuits, or any other non-transitory digital processing
apparatus memory device.
[0075] Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for
purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the principles
thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of
implementing both the systems and methods described herein.
Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as
illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be
limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the
scope and equivalents of the appended claims.
* * * * *