Using cryptology models for protecting PHP source code
Aleksandar Jevremović, Nenad Ristić, Mladen Đ. Veinović · AIP conference proceedings · 2013
Protecting PHP scripts from unwanted use, copying and modifications is a big issue today. Existing solutions on source code level are mostly working as obfuscators, they are free, and they are not providing any serious protection. Solutions that encode opcode are more secure, but they are commercial and require closed-source proprietary PHP interpreter's extension. Additionally, encoded opcode is not compatible with future versions of interpreters which imply re-buying encoders from the authors. Finally, if extension source-code is compromised, all scripts encoded with that solution are compromised too. In this paper, we will present a new model for free and open-source PHP script protection solution. Protection level provided by the proposed solution is equal to protection level of commercial solutions. Model is based on conclusions from use of standard cryptology models for analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the existing solutions, when a scripts protection is seen as secure communication channel in the cryptology.