CmCloud offers full protection and licensing for mobile or cloud software that is running on devices with a permanent internet connection. The technology is based on the familiar and popular CodeMeter system and does not compromise on CodeMeter’s customary ease of use and flexibility. The licenses are stored right in the cloud and can be accessed by users on the go, needing only a credential file, created and assigned by the vendor, to reach the right licenses in the CmCloudContainer. CodeMeter Cloud Lite provides a barebones REST/SOAP licensing API, compared to CodeMeter Cloud with its full compatibility with Wibu-Systems’ CmDongle hardware and CmActLicense software containers.

The API is available for native, .NET, and Java applications and includes the automatic protection features of CodeMeter Protection Suite. A license portal can (optionally) be used to integrate the system with any existing user management system. The CodeMeter Cloud server is operated as a turnkey solution by Wibu-Systems. CmCloudContainers can be created in CodeMeter License Central, making it easy to handle even larger numbers of active users. Alternatively, CmCloudContainers can be manually created via a dedicated dashboard.

The CmReadyTM system adds CodeMeter capabilities to qualified mass storage devices and fills an attractive and in-demand spot between the top-end protection of the company’s CmDongles and the comfort of CmActLicense software containers. Swissbit, manufacturer of the industry-grade Data Protection (DP) line of SD and microSD cards, has teamed up with Wibu-Systems to introduce the new CmReady solution to a wider audience.

Users of CodeMeter can already count on a vast array of choices: The protection, licensing, and security technology can be used with a range of possible vessels, including software, hardware, and even cloud containers. Each choice brings its unique advantages. The smart card enabled CmDongles offer unrivaled security and a wide range of form factors, including USB sticks, memory cards, and ASICs. Like their cloud siblings, they are made for mobility purposes and both types support added capabilities like CodeMoving, which sees particularly sensitive code executed in the safe confines of the container. CmActLicense software containers promise particular ease of use and comfort, with the licenses bound to the digital fingerprint of the device they are used on.

Regular mass storage devices like SD or microSD cards are a popular option for many embedded and IoT device makers who cannot include a USB interface or integrate a ASIC in their hardware. Up to now, this architectural constraint limited their choice, but the all new CmReady concept brings the best of both worlds. With CmReady, the binding is created by combining the hardware unique ID (UID) of the card with protected, monotonically increasing counters to prevent replay-attacks against the license container. These units are extremely portable and comfortable to use, with licenses easily added through the familiar CodeMeter license management system and no additional implementation efforts needed to establish the binding.

AxProtector Python lets the makers of python applications protect their work with CodeMeter’s accustomed ease of use, flexibility, and platform independence. With its simple elegance, Python has enjoyed resurgent popularity and a genuine renaissance in innovative fields like artificial intelligence and machine learning.

As Python becomes more popular, it has attracted the attention of would-be attackers. Hackers usually encountered little difficulty when trying to crack into Python applications and steal the IP contained in it, as the software was often delivered in completely unprotected plaintext form. Even pre-compiling the code as native machine code by means of tools like Cython is not enough to stop such attempts by more experienced hackers, and it takes away the platform independence that makes Python code so attractive in the first place.

Until recently, clients of Wibu-Systems could already use CodeMeter to protect such pre-compiled code. But now, CodeMeter has been expanded to be able to encrypt and protect Python applications in their original, platform-independent form. The technology keeps the functions of the protected application encrypted right up to the point of need, making it virtually impossible to access the unprotected code by means of memory dumps. Software developers can also use the full set of tried-and-tested CodeMeter features, such as flexible licensing models like single user, floating network, or subscription licenses. The technology even allows individual parts of the code to be encrypted and licensed separately to prepare for popular new business models like modular licenses or features-on-demand. With the included automation functions, CodeMeter slots in easily with established continuous integration systems.

Python had long been relegated to the sidelines in a software development scene that preferred C and Java. This situation has changed considerably, as the TIOBE ranking of popular languages shows: Python has not only outranked other, newer languages, but also these two behemoths of the scene: In 2021, Python was chosen as the most popular language for the fourth year running. The reasons named include the constant commitment to simplicity and the many available resources for up-and-coming areas of use like artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In the digital age, smart devices have become ubiquitous. Many of them include at least some element of artificial intelligence for jobs like image or voice recognition, as modern smartphones or digital household assistants have shown aplenty. Other, more complex processes, like weather models, algorithmic trading, or medical diagnostics, also use similar technology. What all of them have in common: They all use Python libraries.

Wibu-Systems has developed CodeMeter Certificate Vault as a hardware key storage solution for PKCS#11, Microsoft CNG, and OpenSSL certificates. It is used to securely contain the private keys, with access restricted to applications using TLS certificates and OPC UA entities. The technology was born to make requesting, updating, and transferring certificates easy and comfortable, using the same popular mechanisms that CodeMeter employs for creating, managing, and delivering licenses.

Certificates can be mission critical, as they can be used to identify machines and operators with absolute certainty – an often overlooked, but indispensable ability in the digital age. However, certificate management and key storage used to be too complex and unwieldy. CodeMeter Certificate Vault was born to break this impasse: It uses the same protection hardware and underlying CodeMeter technology that has been favored by software developers and hardware manufacturers in the industrial IIoT to protect their technical knowhow and IP since 2003. CodeMeter Certificate Vault stores certificates in the tamperproof smartcard chips of dedicated dongles that act as secure hardware elements to provide a shared container for both cryptographic keys and secure software licenses. The approach simplifies key management and delivery enormously and integrates smoothly with existing license management workflows. The necessary CmDongles are available in many form factors, such as USB dongles, memory cards, and ASICs, including industry-grade versions of each type.

The CodeMeter technology empowers software developers and the makers of intelligent devices to protect and license their works reliably. CodeMeter has been designed to let its users benefit in many ways from the great protection and exceptional flexibility of the solution.

Scalable security: The cryptographic keys needed to access protected software can be stored in either of our license container types, with hardware CmDongles available in different formats, e.g. as USB dongles, memory cards, or ASICs. CmActLicense files are software solutions that bind the license to a digital fingerprint of the target device. And the newest addition, CmCloud, lets licenses live in the cloud, with only an internet connection needed to access the protected software securely.

Licenses enable software and hardware developers to market their solutions with a perfect sense for the users’ actual needs and tap into new business opportunities (monetization). The license models include network, feature-on-demand, pay-per-use, or subscription options, and licenses can be provided in CmDongle, CmActLicense, and CmCloud containers. CodeMeter License Central is the database-driven licensing solution that automates the entire chain from creating and delivering to managing licenses for software and other digital assets, fully integrated with many common CRM, ERP, and e-commerce systems.

A range of encryption tools is available to match all requirements and use cases: CodeMeter Runtime for standard software and CodeMeter Embedded or µEmbedded for leaner embedded systems.

Our commitment to flexibility extends to the platform that the protected software will run on, including cloud systems, mobile or edge devices, in on-premise settings, or on embedded devices and controllers.

The CodeMeter Protection Suite brings together a comprehensive kit of tools and settings for any level of protection, a range of development environments, and a flexible choice of licensing models. Its mainstay tool, AxProtector, automatically encrypts entire applications with unrivalled ease-of-use for the software developer. Its companion piece, IxProtector, can be used to selectively encrypt individual functions. The AxProtector tool is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, .NET, Java, Python, and JavaScript.