Re: obviscating python code for distribution

References	<4DD08620.4030507@tysdomain.com> <mailman.1611.1305512463.9059.python-list@python.org> <op.vvlipenoa8ncjz@gnudebst> <5h9ca8-ekq.ln1@svn.schaathun.net>
Date	2011-05-18 09:54 -0700
Subject	Re: obviscating python code for distribution
From	geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.python
Message-ID	<mailman.1757.1305737674.9059.python-list@python.org> (permalink)

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On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 12:36 AM, Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 16 May 2011 23:42:40 +0100, Rhodri James
>  <rhodri@wildebst.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> :  ...which is, of course, not exactly secure either.  A sufficiently
> :  determined hacker won't have much trouble disassembling a shared library
> :  even if you do strip out all the debug information.  By chance I'm having
> :  to do something closely related to this at work just at the moment; it's
> :  hard, but far from impossible.
>
> But then, nothing is secure in any absolute sense.

If you're talking security and not philosophy, there is such a thing
as a secure system. As a developer you should aim for it.

> The best you can
> do with all your security efforts is to manage risk.  Since obfuscation
> increases the cost of mounting an attack, it also reduces risk,
> and thereby provides some level of security.

The on-the-ground reality is that it doesn't. Lack of access to the
source code has not kept windows or adobe acrobat or flash player
secure, and they have large full-time security teams, and as you might
imagine from the amount of malware floating around targeting those
systems there are a lot of people who have these skills in spades.

> Obviously, if your threat sources are dedicated hackers or maybe MI5,
> there is no point bothering with obfuscation, but if your threat source
> is script kiddies, then it might be quite effective.

On the theory that any attack model without an adversary is
automatically secure?

Geremy Condra

Thread

Re: obviscating python code for distribution Daniel Kluev <dan.kluev@gmail.com> - 2011-05-16 13:21 +1100
  Re: obviscating python code for distribution "Rhodri James" <rhodri@wildebst.demon.co.uk> - 2011-05-16 23:42 +0100
    Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-18 08:36 +0100
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 17:42 +0300
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 09:54 -0700
        Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-18 18:33 +0100
          Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 12:07 -0700
            Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-18 20:56 +0100
              Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 14:34 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-19 06:21 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-05-19 08:47 +0000
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-19 10:16 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 10:23 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-19 19:23 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 17:56 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-20 05:48 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-05-20 07:04 +0000
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Hans Georg Schaathun <hg@schaathun.net> - 2011-05-20 09:54 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution harrismh777 <harrismh777@charter.net> - 2011-05-20 15:24 -0500
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-20 15:45 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-05-21 00:54 +0000
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution harrismh777 <harrismh777@charter.net> - 2011-05-20 23:26 -0500
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2011-05-20 07:10 +0000
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-20 09:26 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2011-05-20 18:48 +0100
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-20 11:33 +1000
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 19:30 -0700
                Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-20 12:35 +1000
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 03:24 +1000
        Re: obviscating python code for distribution John Bokma <john@castleamber.com> - 2011-05-18 12:31 -0500
          Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 03:52 +1000
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 10:40 -0700
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 04:07 +1000
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution "Littlefield, Tyler" <tyler@tysdomain.com> - 2011-05-18 12:26 -0600
        Re: obviscating python code for distribution harrismh777 <harrismh777@charter.net> - 2011-05-18 21:54 -0500
          Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 10:50 -0700
            Re: obviscating python code for distribution harrismh777 <harrismh777@charter.net> - 2011-05-20 01:17 -0500
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 21:30 +0300
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 21:31 +0300
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 04:37 +1000
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2011-05-19 04:49 +1000
      Re: obviscating python code for distribution geremy condra <debatem1@gmail.com> - 2011-05-18 14:47 -0700

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