<s>
A	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
cryptographic	O
signature	O
added	O
to	O
software	O
that	O
enables	O
positive	O
origin	O
identification	O
and	O
integrity	O
of	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Algorithm
taggants	I-Algorithm
use	O
standard	O
PKI	O
techniques	O
(	O
see	O
Public	B-Architecture
key	I-Architecture
infrastructure	I-Architecture
)	O
and	O
were	O
introduced	O
by	O
the	O
Industry	O
Connections	O
Security	O
Group	O
of	O
IEEE	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
control	O
proliferation	O
of	O
malware	O
obfuscated	O
via	O
executable	B-Application
compression	I-Application
(	O
runtime	B-Application
packer	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
PKI-based	O
system	O
to	O
mitigate	O
runtime	B-Application
packer	I-Application
abuse	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
2010	O
and	O
described	O
in	O
a	O
Black	O
Hat	O
Briefings	O
presentation	O
by	O
Mark	O
Kennedy	O
and	O
Igor	O
Muttik	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
code	O
signing	O
somewhat	O
similar	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Authenticode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
key	O
differences	O
between	O
a	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
and	O
Authenticode	O
are	O
that	O
the	O
transparent	O
and	O
free	O
addition	O
of	O
a	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
for	O
the	O
end	O
user	O
of	O
a	O
runtime	B-Application
packer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
a	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
may	O
cover	O
small	O
critical	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
to	O
minimize	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
software	O
integrity	O
checking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	B-Algorithm
taggant	I-Algorithm
project	O
is	O
run	O
by	O
IEEE	O
ICSG	O
and	O
has	O
open-source	O
nature	O
-	O
it	O
is	O
hosted	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
and	O
relies	O
on	O
OpenSSL	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Algorithm
taggants	I-Algorithm
also	O
help	O
to	O
legitimate	O
software	O
from	O
malware	O
which	O
also	O
utilize	O
anti-tampering	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
