Unstealable Code

Cryptographic infrastructure that makes algorithm theft mathematically impossible. Code that doesn't exist without vendor authorization.

Algorithm Theft is a $70 Billion Problem

In 2026, proprietary algorithms face existential threats. AI model extraction attacks can "steal" ML functionality by querying public APIs. Reverse engineering remains trivial for skilled attackers. Insider threats are up 25% year-over-year, with cybersecurity firms reporting increased IP-related breaches via phishing and supply chain attacks.

Traditional protection mechanisms — obfuscation, license keys, code signing — all share a fatal flaw: the code exists on the client. If it exists, it can be copied. If it can be copied, it can be stolen.

Three-Layer Cryptographic Defense

PRIVATE.ME eliminates the contradiction with a novel architecture: code that doesn't exist without vendor cooperation. Not obfuscated. Not encrypted. Mathematically proven to be useless without real-time authorization.

Simple Explanation

Technical Architecture

Code Example

// Vendor: Build ghost at build time
import { ghostBuild } from '@private.me/xghost';

const pricingAlgo = `
  return {
    calculatePrice: (base, volume, tier) => {
      // PROPRIETARY FORMULA (never exposed)
      const discount = secretFormula(tier);
      const volumeDiscount = proprietaryCurve(volume);
      return base * (1 - discount - volumeDiscount);
    }
  };
`;

const ghost = await ghostBuild({
  source: new TextEncoder().encode(pricingAlgo),
  exports: ['calculatePrice'],
  n: 2, // 2 total shares
  k: 2, // 2-of-2 threshold
});

// Share 1 → npm package (customer receives)
// Share 2 → vendor server (never leaves vendor)

// Customer: Install and use (never sees source code)
import { createGhost } from '@vendor/pricing-sdk';
import { verifyKKW } from '@private.me/xprove';

// Step 1: Verify published proofs
for (const proof of vendorProofs) {
  const verified = await verifyKKW(circuit, proof, expectedOutput);
  if (!verified.ok) throw new Error('Proof failed!');
}
console.log('✓ Algorithm verified (without seeing source)');

// Step 2: Create ghost runtime (requires active session)
const ghost = await createGhost({
  customerShare: share1,  // From npm package
  manifest,
  server: vendorServer,   // Heartbeat endpoint
  did: customerDID,       // Identity
  tier: 2,                 // Xpass session binding
});

// Step 3: Call function (code reconstructs + executes + purges)
const price = await ghost.call('calculatePrice', 100, 1500, 'pro');
console.log('Price:', price.value); // Got result, never saw formula

Real-World Applications

Why Traditional Protection Fails

Attack Resistance

No security system is perfect. Here's an honest assessment of what attackers can and cannot do:

For defense/classified use cases: Tier 3 MPC execution makes code effectively unstealable. Even with unlimited time and resources, attacker gets shares only — not plaintext source code.

What This Enables

• Instant revocation. Vendor kills session → all copies stop working globally. No software update required.
• Usage-based billing. Pay per call, not per seat. Track every function invocation with HMAC-chained audit trail.
• Time-limited trials. 8-hour sessions expire automatically. No refund disputes — customer never "owned" the code.
• Compliance without source exposure. Auditors verify via zero-knowledge proofs. FDA, SEC, DoD can verify correctness without seeing trade secrets.
• Multi-party approval workflows. K-of-N threshold governance for algorithm updates. Risk + Compliance + Engineering must all approve before deployment.
• Geographic restrictions. Session authorization checks IP geolocation. ITAR/EAR export controls enforced cryptographically.
• Feature gating. Different functions for different tiers. Enforced via session scope, not if-statements.
• Tamper-evident history. Every execution logged with DID, timestamp, inputs, outputs. HMAC-chained audit trail. Regulatory compliance built-in.

Performance

Tier 1/2: Suitable for 99% of use cases. Overhead negligible for typical algorithms (<0.2% for 1-second operations).

Tier 3: Use for highest-security scenarios where code exposure is unacceptable (defense, pharma, finance). ~100ms overhead limits to low-frequency operations (not HFT).

Deployment Tiers

Protection level scales with security requirements:

• Tier 1 (Basic): Heartbeat authorization. 2-8 hour sessions. Suitable for SaaS pricing engines, ML inference SDKs. $5/month per connection.
• Tier 2 (Secure): Xpass session binding. Billing enforcement. Payment stops → code stops. Subscription SDKs, time-limited trials. $10/month per connection.
• Tier 3 (Zero): MPC execution. Code never reconstructs. Defense contractors, pharmaceutical IP, classified algorithms. Custom pricing.

Implementation

Ready to make your algorithms unstealable? Three integration paths: