Aspects of Intermediate Level Obfuscation

Abstract

The aim of obfuscation in general is to prevent malicious users from disclosing properties of the original source program. This goal can be achieved by an intermediate level obfuscation that deals with a target platform independent intermediate code. In this paper, we discuss general approaches to an intermediate level obfuscation algorithm, pointing out problems and proposing solutions. The paper discusses such aspects of intermediate level obfuscation as input data analysis, mixing of contexts, external function calls, etc. The focus is set on working out an optimization resistant intermediate level obfuscation algorithm that can reliably protect routines from unauthorized analysis and modification.