Zend is more sophisticated than the techniques described in this story.  It&#x27;s at the opcode level.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;xcon.xfocus.org&#x2F;XCon2006&#x2F;archieves&#x2F;Darkne2s&amp;A1rsupp1y-Decode_PHP_Zend.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;xcon.xfocus.org&#x2F;XCon2006&#x2F;archieves&#x2F;Darkne2s&amp;A1rsupp1y...</a><p>Somewhat similar to what Dropbox does to obfuscate their Python client.  They provide a custom built python interpreter that uses a non-standard opcode mapping, as well as &quot;encrypting&#x2F;decrypting&quot; with a key hidden in the code.