Softwarepot: An encapsulated transferable file system for secure software circulation

We have developed a general approach to enable secure circulation of software in an open network environment such as the Internet. By software circulation, we mean a generalized conventional software distribution concept in which software can be transferred even in an iterative manner such as through redistribution or using mobile agents. To clarify the problem that arises when software is circulated in an open network environment, we rst considered a simple model for unsecure software circulation and then developed a model for secure software circulation (SSC). In the SSC model, we extended the sandbox concept to include its own le system and to have the ability to be transferred via a network. In this sense, our approach is characterized by an encapsulated, transferable le system. We describe how theSoftwarePot system was designed to implement the SSC model, and discuss the implications of experimental results that we obtained during the implementation