Methods and systems for asset obfuscation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11877213-B2
Application number	US-202117555135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2021
Priority date	Sep 29, 2014
Publication date	Jan 16, 2024
Grant date	Jan 16, 2024

Abstract

Techniques for obfuscating and deploying digital assets (e.g., mobile applications) are provided to mitigate the risk of unauthorized disclosure. An asset can be received that is to be deployed to a plurality of mobile devices, each of the mobile devices associated with a corresponding account having account attributes. A deployment group of one or more mobile devices for deploying the asset can be identified based on a set of one or more obfuscation parameters, comprising account attributes shared among the one or more mobile devices within the deployment group. A customized obfuscation scheme to be applied to the asset can be determined based at least in part on the set of obfuscation parameters. The customized obfuscation scheme can be applied to the asset to generate an obfuscated asset. The obfuscated asset can be transmitted and/or updated over a network to the one or more mobile devices within the deployment group.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a computer system, the method comprising:
receiving, by the computer system, a mobile application that is to be installed on a plurality of mobile devices;
identifying, by the computer system, the plurality of mobile devices on which the mobile application is installed, each of the plurality of mobile devices associated with a corresponding account stored on the computer system, each account having one or more account attributes;
dynamically determining, by the computer system, a first set of obfuscation parameters;
identifying, by the computer system, a first deployment group of mobile devices from the plurality of mobile devices for deploying the mobile application based on the first set of obfuscation parameters, the mobile devices in the first deployment group being a portion of the plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of mobile devices associated with a different account, and each account associated with a different account holder, wherein the one or more account attributes are common to the mobile devices within the first deployment group that is the portion of the plurality of mobile devices;
determining, by the computer system, a first obfuscation scheme to be applied to the mobile application based at least in part on the first set of obfuscation parameters, wherein the first obfuscation scheme comprises a process for transforming the mobile application;
generating a first obfuscated mobile application by obfuscating, by the computer system, the mobile application by applying the first obfuscation scheme to the mobile application;
transmitting, by the computer system, over a network the first obfuscated mobile application to the mobile devices within the first deployment group;
dynamically determining, by the computer system, a third set of obfuscation parameters;
identifying, by the computer system, a third deployment group of mobile devices from among the plurality of mobile devices that is in a same geographic region as the first deployment group for deploying the mobile application based on the third set of obfuscation parameters;
determining, by the computer system, a third obfuscation scheme to be applied to the mobile application based at least in part on providing the third set of obfuscation parameters as an input to an obfuscation algorithm;
generating a third obfuscated mobile application by obfuscating, by the computer system, the mobile application by applying the third obfuscation scheme to the mobile application; and
transmitting, by the computer system, over the network the third obfuscated mobile application to the mobile devices within the third deployment group.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first obfuscation scheme comprises selecting the first obfuscation scheme from a plurality of obfuscation schemes based at least in part on the first set of obfuscation parameters.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first obfuscation scheme comprises providing the first set of obfuscation parameters as an input to the obfuscation algorithm.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first obfuscation scheme comprises:
obtaining, an indicator of obfuscation strength to be applied in the first obfuscation scheme for the mobile application; and
determining one or more categories of information to obfuscate based on the indicator of obfuscation strength associated with the first obfuscated mobile application, the one or more categories of information comprising code, data, or cryptographic key.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining the first obfuscation scheme comprises:
determining a level of obfuscation to be used for obfuscating information of at least one category of the one or more categories of information based on the indicator of obfuscation strength.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
determining that obfuscation of the mobile application is to be updated;
determining a second obfuscation scheme to be applied to the mobile application based at least in part on a second set of one or more obfuscation parameters;
applying the second obfuscation scheme to the mobile application to generate a second obfuscated mobile application; and
deploying the second obfuscated mobile application to at least one of the mobile devices within the first deployment group.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
determining, by the computer system, an update frequency for updating the mobile application based at least in part on a level of strength of the first obfuscation scheme or the first set of obfuscation parameters.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
determining, by the computer system, that obfuscation of the mobile application is to be updated; and
transmitting, by the computer system, to at least one mobile device, of the mobile devices within the first deployment group, one or more instructions for applying an updated obfuscation scheme to the mobile application using a second set of one or more obfuscation parameters.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more instructions include the second set of one or more obfuscation parameters.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising identifying, by the computer system, a second deployment group of mobile devices of the plurality of mobile devices for deploying the mobile application based on a second set of one or more obfuscation parameters, the mobile devices of the second deployment group being a second portion of the plurality of mobile devices,
wherein the second set of one or more obfuscation parameters comprise one or more second account attributes, wherein the one or more second account attributes are common to the mobile devices within the second deployment group that is the portion of the plurality of mobile devices.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of mobile devices on which the mobile application is installed are identified based on a geographic region, an operating system, or a carrier.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform steps comprising:
receiving a mobile application for a plurality of mobile devices;
identifying the plurality of mobile devices on which the mobile application is installed, each of the plurality of mobile devices associated with a corresponding account, each account having one or more account attributes;
dynamically determining a first set of obfuscation parameters;
identifying a first deployment group of mobile devices from the plurality of mobile devices for transmitting the mobile application based on the first set of obfuscation parameters, the mobile devices in the first deployment group being a portion of the plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of mobile devices associated with a different account, and each account associated with a different account holder, wherein the one or more account attributes are common to the mobile devices within the first deployment group that is the portion of the plurality of mobile devices;
determining a first obfuscation scheme to be applied to the mobile application based at least in part on the first set of obfuscation parameters;
generating a first obfuscated mobile application by obfuscating the mobile application by applying the first obfuscation scheme to the mobile application;
transmitting over a network the first obfuscated mobile application to the mobile devices within the first deployment group;
dynamically determining a third set of obfuscation parameters;
identifying a third depl

Assignees

• Visa Int Service Ass

Inventors

• Gordon James
• Joshi Roopesh
• Horton David
• Tilburg Johan Van

Classifications

• H04W4/06 Primary

  Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services · CPC title

• G06Q20/20

  Point-of-sale [POS] network systems · CPC title

• G06Q20/3221

  Access to banking information through M-devices · CPC title

• G06Q20/36

  using electronic wallets or electronic money safes · CPC title

• H04L63/0414

  during transmission, i.e. party's identity is protected against eavesdropping, e.g. by using temporary identifiers, but is known to the other party or parties involved in the communication · CPC title