Covert Software Distribution via Shadow Processor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anti-virus and diagnostic software are ineffective against malware infections at the operating system level or within the anti-virus software itself, as malware can monitor and adapt to evade detection and control network access to prevent diagnostic efforts.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dividing diagnostic software into shreds, enhancing communication fault tolerance through erasure coding, encrypting, and distributing them using unconventional pathways, where a shadow processor assembles and executes the shreds to evade resident malware detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If diagnostic software is distributed through conventional network channels, then software delivery is straightforward, but malware can monitor and block these channels to prevent diagnostic efforts
Solution Approach 1:
The diagnostic software is divided into multiple code shreds that are distributed separately through different unconventional channels (peer-to-peer networks, environmental sensors, light, sound, magnetic fields). This segmentation prevents malware from blocking all delivery channels simultaneously and allows the software to be reassembled covertly on the target device.
2Ease of operation
If diagnostic software is executed directly on a compromised device, then diagnostic functionality is available, but resident malware can detect and adapt to evade control
Solution Approach 1:
A shadow processor is introduced as an intermediary component that executes the reassembled diagnostic software in isolation from the compromised main processor and resident malware. The shadow processor acts as a secure enclave that the malware cannot detect or control, allowing diagnostic operations to proceed undetected while the main system remains infected.
3Reliability
If software is divided into shreds and distributed through unconventional pathways, then covert execution is achieved, but distribution complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs multiple unconventional communication channels (peer-to-peer networks, environmental sensors, light, sound, magnetic fields) that can serve both as diagnostic data transmission paths and as covert software distribution channels. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated infrastructure for each purpose, thereby managing complexity while achieving covert execution.
Data Source
AI summary
Distributing and executing software upon devices by providing a computer program; dividing the computer program into a set of shreds; improving the communications fault tolerance of the shreds; encrypting the shreds; and distributing individual shreds to a shadow processor of a device for assembly and execution.