How can I sanitize Labview code?

[BillB57109]

It's not classified, but it needs to be screened to get it out of the building I work in.  Security is concerned about hidden information when you can't read something as ascii.

[RavensFan]

As I understand what you are asking for by "sanitize", you want to convert your VI's to be something human readable as in ASCII.

I don't think there is anyway you can do that.  VI's are saved in a binary format.  So it is inherently not ASCII.  There is no way someone can inspect it to know whether it is a perfectly limit VI, or something that has government secrets buried in it.

Good luck in trying to find a method that lets you work around these security restrictions.

[Yamaeda]

The Screeners must get LV to look and verify the code in that case.

/Y 

[BillB57109]

Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the input.  At one time this TP existed outside, so I'm hoping I can find a copy there.  Otherwise, I think I will have to manually recreate it.

[PhillipBrooks]

Probably not viable, but maybe you can you save your individual VIs as snippets?

They would be PNG files that could be scanned for what, I don't know.

 They wouldn't need LabVIEW to 'view' the code.

[RavensFan]

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@PhillipBrooks wrote:

Probably not viable, but maybe you can you save your individual VIs as snippets?

They would be PNG files that could be scanned for what, I don't know.

 They wouldn't need LabVIEW to 'view' the code.

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I'd be curious if that would pass muster.

One of my thoughts would be if you were able to carry out pictures of your LabVIEW code.  (Hardcopy since it seems that they are afraid of any electronic storage devices leaving the facility.)  At least then you'd have enough information to recreate you VI's like you said.

A snippet would be appear to be a picture.  But it is actually a vehicle for carrying out other information behind it.  There is more info in that .png file than just a picture.  It contains all the code to be able to recreate the VI.  Well if a .png file on disk or USB key can do that, then what is stopping someone from figuring out how to hide sensitive secrets in the metadata of that .png file just like the LabVIEW code is buried in it?

[Ben · Accepted solution]

Life inside the barbed wire fence... guards to the left of me esorts to the right, here I am not allowed to touch the mouse....

I have had the privlege (where is my sarcasm emoticon?) of working in that environment.

They only way I have seen LV come out is in hard-copy form.. yes a pile of pictures that had to be recreated.

The other case required setting it up a head of time. The Laptop was registered ahead of time and once inside the facility monitored and tracked by my escort. After working the laptop went to IT who checked with the escort and then the laptop was sealed in it bag and a form filled out. The laptop and the form (still in the custody of the cleared escort) were then walked to the guard station who verified the paper work seal and re-inspected the laptop bag.

That is all I can offer,

Ben

[BillB57109]

I have the author of the code (written in 2002) coming over on Monday.  He thinks he can convince our security people by examining the labview screens. I don't think that will happen, but I'll let you know how it goes.

[Ben]

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@BillB57109 wrote:

I have the author of the code (written in 2002) coming over on Monday.  He thinks he can convince our security people by examining the labview screens. I don't think that will happen, but I'll let you know how it goes.

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Please do.

From what I know of LV, I would never let uncontrolled LV code out of a secure site. even defining what controlled LV code really is is hard to define ..., two-man rule?

Example:

An array of booleans as a constant in a diagram can actually be an array of characters.

Once off-site the array could be cast back as text and ... well it depends on what that array of characters says.

Coming out as hard-copy diagrams that have to be manually re-coded is the only real way to enuse only the ocde cmoes out and not protected info.

Ben

[Darin.K]

I wonder if the security people are lucky or good. Don't tell them but I can think of many ways to hide information inside a VI.