CodeMeter® not cracked during International Hacker’s Contest
San Francisco, CA – May 7th 2007, Wibu-Systems USA, Inc. announces to the JavaOne Attendees the results of the fourth International Hacker´s Contest, hosted by Wibu-Systems. The hackers’ task was to bypass or remove the software protection provided by CodeMeter, a solution developed by Wibu-Systems. The competition started on February 1, 0:00 CET and ended on March 14, 23:59 CET. In all, 1,092 contestants from 27 countries participated. Most of the participants were located in Germany, followed by contestants from China, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, France, Great Britain and the Ukraine.
While no protection solution can offer 100% protection, it is apparent that CodeMeter was able to stump an International group of experienced hackers for six weeks. The competition was even more exciting this time, because each contestant received both a copy of the protected “contest” software and a CodeMeter stick (the dongle) where the necessary license was stored. CodeMeter needed to be attached to the PC in order to run the protected software. In the second half of the contest, a specific license bit in CodeMeter was not activated. To crack this, either the encryption algorithm had to be cracked – nearly impossible – or this bit had to be manipulated in the dongle or in the software. But today, after exactly six weeks, it is certain: no contestant was able to crack the protection. Marcellus Buchheit, C.E.O. of WIBU-USA, said,“We hoped that our CodeMeter protection system would hold up against attacks and now we are especially pleased about these fantastic results. There are plenty of protection solutions available on the market; each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Two of the most important features in any copy protection system, are the level of security provided and the flexibility of license management. And now we have proof that our patented security solutions have propelled us to the very top of the list as a manufacturer of software protection solutions.”
The CodeMeter system is characterized by the use of encryption algorithms used to store license tokens inside a SmartCard chip found inside each CodeMeter stick. CodeMeter is able to detect hacking attacks and is able to disable itself if a set number of unsuccessful attempts are made to discover the required license token. It is exactly this feature that frustrated the “brute force” attacks made by some contestants. Many contestants had to ask for a second activation of CodeMeter after it had “locked up.”
Some contestants in Germany, China and one from Poland took the time to send in partial solutions together with suggestions on how to improve our protection mechanisms. Wibu-Systems decided to reward each with a payment of 1,000 Euro. Oliver Winzenried, CEO of WIBU-Systems, AG, said,“Of course it was the ambition of this contest to show that our solutions would provide a high level of security. Additionally, it was important for us to find any unknown weak points our own testing didn’t reveal.” Christoph Fischer, an accepted IT security specialist, said,“The contest clearly shows that even if there is no 100% protection possible in all areas of anti-piracy, top-quality solutions can provide a sufficiently high enough barrier that even cracking specialists will not have an easy time.”
In the final analysis, the competition was worthwhile for all involved: Wibu-Systems didn´t have to pay off the complete prize and received some valuable ideas for making improvements to the software protection. All contestants received a CodeMeter stick for an attractive price and they can continue to use its personal“security suite” to make their own computing experience more secure. And the contestants who took the time to send in a partial solution received an attractive consolation prize.
About Wibu-Systems AG (Located in Germany)
Wibu-Systems AG, a private company, was founded in 1989 in Karlsruhe, Germany by Oliver Winzenried and Marcellus Buchheit, with the aim of developing easy to use and effective, software, document and media protection systems. The company is known today as one of the most advanced software protection developers and suppliers in the whole world. The company is also known for its innovative approach to network license management and Internet information security solutions.
Wibu-Systems also maintains offices in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands and Mainland China as well as a worldwide network of local distributors.
Website: http://www.wibu.com
Contact: email info@wibu.com, phone: +49.721.93172.0, fax: +49.721.93172.22
About Wibu-Systems USA, Inc.
Wibu-Systems USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wibu-Systems AG, located in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle and is the exclusive reseller of Wibu-Systems products for the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Website: http://www.wibu.us
Contact: email info@wibu.us, phone: +1.800.6.Go.Wibu(+1.800.646.9428), fax: +1.206.237-2644
Contact Info
For more information, please contact
John Poulson
Wibu-Systems USA, Inc.
john.poulson@wibu.com
1.800.6.Go.Wibu, ext. 33
or 1.425.775.6900, ext. 33
Trademarks
WIBU®, SmartShelter™ and CodeMeter® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wibu-Systems AG.
Windows, Windows XP, Windows VISTA, Win32, Win64, Intel, UNIX, Linux, Apple, Macintosh OS X are registered in the U.S. and other countries and are the property of their respective owners.
