US tech start-up Shape Security has unveiled computer software that protects against hacks by shifting the code of the website you’re visiting. The software works with HTML, JavaScript and CSS, essentially transforming websites into “moving targets” so hackers can’t complete automated attacks.
Well not anymore!
According to BBC, the start-up calls its product, named Shapeshifter a “botwall,” something that stands as a barrier against automated tools known as bots, which are designed to find and crack weak links in a site’s code. As many software products try to stop these bots by identifying their signatures—the name they were registered with or the email address they report to—hackers have started rewriting their bots’ code every time they infect a new machine so they can’t be found in that way.
Shapeshifter takes this technique, known as “real-time polymorphism,” and turns it back against them. While the website looks the same to each user, the site’s code changes with every page view, according to company founder Sumit Agarwal on their official blog.
What the appliance will actually look like
Like most computer security there’s always a chance that somebody could get around the software, and ShapeShifter does not claim to be infallible. It does claim to make automated attacks significantly harder to pull off for hackers, a claim that seems to be currently supported by enthusiastic backers, including Google. There's no word yet on when Shapeshifter will be released to the consumer market, or on price, but the company has raised $26 million for the upcoming product launch with the help of investors, so it shouldn't be too long.
Source BBC
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