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One of the world's leading software protection companies is calling on multinational organisations to be more vigilant - and proactive - about the increasing risk of becoming victims of cyber crime.
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One of the world's leading software protection companies is calling on multinational organisations to be more vigilant - and proactive - about the increasing risk of becoming victims of cyber crime.
The warning, from StarForce Technologies, follows confirmation by global software producer Symantec that the source code for two of its anti-virus products has been stolen. The code is essentially a blueprint for Symantec products and, potentially, offers both hackers and rivals an insight into the company's technologies.
A group known as the Lords of Dharmaraja has claimed responsibility for the hacking. Media reports state that the group discovered the source code during a hack conducted on military and intelligence servers belonging to the Indian government.
Reports mention the presence of source codes belonging to a 'dozen software companies'. The hackers claim these companies signed agreements with the Indian government which gave them access to the code.
Symantec has played down the risks, claiming that the exposed code was several years old and that one of the products involved has been discontinued. However, the incident underlines the vulnerability of organisations, especially multinational institutions, to cyber criminals and the need to invest in the most highly-effective software protection systems.
Software development and digital content protection pioneers have for some time been warning of the political and financial implications of the escalating cyber attacks on high-profile institutions.
StarForce Technologies says further attacks on global institutions are inevitable which makes further major investment in high-effective security protection more essential than ever before.
Dmitry Guseff, deputy marketing director of StarForce Technologies, said: "One can only imagine the implications when hackers develop malware that can circumvent security barriers - as in this latest incident with Symantec products.
"A major concern when software is stolen or source codes are compromised is that anti-virus solutions end up in the hands of rivals. Once a source code is exposed like this, it becomes easier for hackers to circumvent the code altogether or to severely restrict its effectiveness."
StarForce Technologies says that what Symantec is describing as a breaching of a 'third party entity' will have a significant impact on cost and reputation for the world's largest security software producer, best known for developing the Norton anti-virus software.
"We all have to learn from serious incidents like these," said Dmitry Guseff. "No one is going to stop them or wave a magic wand to prevent cyber crime but organisations - especially the world's largest enterprises - must be more vigilant with their high-level information protection and security safeguards.
"An integrated and innovative approach is essential to make life much tougher for cyber criminals. Source code obfuscation is an approach that StarForce recommends to raise significantly the levels of security resistance.
"To considerably hamper software being analysed by hackers we protect its code and obfuscate algorithms to make it impracticable, and sometimes even impossible, for hackers to decipher product source codes or to understand how the software works."
StarForce Technologies uses several anti reverse-engineering technologies including:
• Obfuscation
• Program code virtualisation
• Protection against debuggers
• Integrity self checks
• Protection against modifications of application.
About StarForce Technologies
StarForce has expertise in software development and digital content protection from copying, hacking and unauthorised use. For more than 10 years the company has successfully developed and implemented state-of-the-art copy protection software solutions which provide worldwide security for copyright and intellectual property.
Based in Russia, StarForce has representative sales offices in Russia, France, Germany and China. For many years it has been the leading security software developer for the Russian multimedia market which is infamous for its rampant software piracy.
The company offers a full set of tools and services for every stage of application development. These tools transform executable code into StarForce virtual machine instructions, making analysis and modification of software code considerably more difficult for any hacker.
For further information and press contacts:
Skype: starforce_
Contact Information
Tammy Norris
63 Park Road
Peterborough
PE1 2TN
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