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Asked: 2026-05-27T23:43:17+00:00

In fact, private methods are implemented in C# that can still be searched with

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In fact, private methods are implemented in C# that can still be searched with Reflection.

What I am going to do is to write public string Encrypt(string data) and private string Decrypt(string cipher) methods to perform encryption and decryption.

Unfortunately, if someone knows .NET framework, he can use Reflection to find Decrypt methods and it decrypt everything that is encrypted.

It seems that is not that secure. So I want to make Decrypt method to truly private method.

But how to do that?

Updated 09 Jan 2012 10:52PM Sydney Time

bdares provides the technical explanation of this question

Eric Lippert provides the political explanation of this question

Thanks both experts!

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  1. Editorial Team

    You can’t. If the attacker has access to your code, compiled or source, he can trace your program and find where it’s being encrypted or decrypted.

    You can add a layer of security by storing the key in a separate location, but generally if the attacker is executing code on your server, you’re already screwed.

    (You’re only worried about this if the attacker is executing code on your server, because otherwise it doesn’t matter whether or not the method is private. Also, he can’t use reflection to find method names unless he’s executing code on your server. In short: you’re worrying about the wrong thing here.)

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