Side Channel attack

What is Side Channel Attacks do?

In cryptography, a side-channel attack is any attack based on information gained from the physical implementation of a cryptosystem, rather than brute force or theoretical weaknesses in the algorithms (compare cryptanalysis). For example, timing information, power consumption, electromagnetic leaks or even sound can provide an extra source of information, which can be exploited to break the system. Some side-channel attacks require technical knowledge of the internal operation of the system on which the cryptography is implemented, although others such as differential power analysis are effective as black-box attacks.

How does side-channel analysis work?

All attacks take advantage of the changes in processing behavior that will be exhibited at different times during algorithm execution. There are two broad classes of side-channel analysis: simple and differential. Within those classes, attackers can use a range of side-channel properties, such as heat generated, the power consumed, or execution time. For embedded systems where the attacker has access to the hardware, heat, and power represent the most important sources of leaks, although timing-based attacks are likely to become more on multitasking and multiprocessor systems where the attacker is able to load their own code or use interactions between existing applications to track behavior.

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