Top threats facing independent software vendors 
(04/09/2008)
SafeNet has launched a new white paper aimed at helping software developers protect their work against piracy.
Called “Common Hacks and Counter Attacks,” this white paper details the seven greatest threats to hardware-based software protection. Software pirates are renowned for their methods of hacking into software.
SafeNet identifies the top threats facing independent software vendors (ISVs):
· Brute force attack – pure persistence, attempting every security combination;
· Record/playback – software records the information sent from the application to the security token;
· Stealing secrets – unauthorised obtaining of a security password;
· Device sharing – using one token on multiple PCs to avoid licensing rules;
· Time tampering – rolling back the system clock to cheat a time-based licence;
· Hardware cloning – duplicating a hardware token authorised to protect an application;
· Device emulation – software used to mimic a hardware dongle and break the security protection;
SafeNet’s white paper advises developers on how they can protect against licence manipulation. Security measures can be used that keep licences flexible, but also secure.
“Software development is at the heart of the British computing industry, so defending the industry from pirates is paramount,” commented Gary Clark, VP EMEA, SafeNet. “At the same time, it is essential that the protection keeps hackers out without sacrificing the flexibility of the product. Keeping the developed application accessible to legitimate users is critical,” he concluded.
Common Hacks and Counter Attacks can be downloaded from the SafeNet document library.
Related topics: Application and software security Hacking and intrusion prevention
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