Secure Media Delivery Through Device-Specific Code Libraries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media delivery systems lack robust security and authentication controls, making them susceptible to malicious and fraudulent attacks, and suffer from inefficiencies in caching and user authentication.
Innovation Solution
Implement a method of secure content delivery using unique application code libraries with cryptography keys, where each client device receives a different cryptography key, and requests are cryptographically verified to ensure authenticity, with dynamically obfuscated code and time-bound validity states for enhanced security and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional authentication methods are used in media delivery systems, then implementation is simple, but security is weak and susceptible to malicious attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into multiple independent components: user-specific cryptography keys, device-specific application code libraries, and time-bound validity states. Each component operates independently but contributes to the overall security, allowing the system to achieve strong security without requiring a monolithic complex authentication mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
Cryptography keys are pre-generated and assigned to specific user-device combinations before actual content delivery occurs. Application code libraries are pre-obfuscated and stored on the CDN. These preliminary actions enable rapid authentication during content delivery without requiring complex real-time computation, thus improving security while maintaining operational simplicity
2Reliability
If dynamic code obfuscation is implemented for each client device, then security against hacks is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of managing entirely unique complex code for each device, the system creates obfuscated copies of a base application code library. Each copy is transformed through obfuscation processes (variable renaming, control flow obfuscation, etc.) to create device-specific versions that are functionally equivalent but resistant to analysis and hacking. This copying approach achieves security without requiring fundamental redesign of the code management system
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters of the application code library such as obfuscation strength, transformation algorithms, and embedding of device-specific identifiers. By varying these parameters across different device copies, the system achieves high security against hacks while maintaining the same underlying code structure, thus avoiding proportional increases in management complexity
3Reliability
If user-specific cryptography keys are used for authentication, then security is enhanced, but caching efficiency is reduced due to per-user key validity states
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial state management by maintaining validity states only for the cryptography key pairs at the CDN level, rather than tracking every possible state for each user-session combination. This partial action approach provides sufficient security validation while avoiding the exponential state management overhead that would cripple caching efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The CDN acts as an intermediary layer between the content delivery network infrastructure and individual user devices. It manages the cryptography key validity states centrally, absorbing the complexity of user-specific authentication. This intermediary approach allows edge caches to operate efficiently without needing to track individual user states, thus maintaining both security and caching performance
4Ease of manufacture
If static obfuscation is applied to software application portions, then deployment simplicity is maintained, but security against reverse engineering is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the software application receive different levels and types of obfuscation. Critical sections that are vulnerable to reverse engineering receive strong dynamic obfuscation with device-specific transformations, while non-critical portions use lighter static obfuscation. This local quality approach provides targeted security where needed while maintaining deployment simplicity for the overall application
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for secure content delivery are described, whereby a software application is provided to a plurality of client devices, the software application configured to implement an application code library. A respective application code library is provided to each one of the plurality of client devices, wherein each application code library implements a respective cryptography key. A CDN cryptographically verifies that a received request was generated using the respective application code library of the requesting client device, before delivering content to the software application on the requesting client device. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.