Power Side-Channel Attack Analysis: A Review of 20 Years of Study for the Layman

Physical cryptographic implementations are vulnerable to so-called side-channel attacks, in which sensitive information can be recovered by analyzing physical phenomena of a device during operation. In this survey, we trace the development of power side-channel analysis of cryptographic implementations over the last twenty years. We provide a foundation by exploring, in depth, several concepts, such as Simple Power Analysis (SPA), Differential Power Analysis (DPA), Template Attacks (TA), Correlation Power Analysis (CPA), Mutual Information Analysis (MIA), and Test Vector Leakage Assessment (TVLA), as well as the theories that underpin them. Our introduction, review, presentation, and survey of topics are provided for the “non expert”, and are ideal for new researchers entering this field. We conclude the work with a brief introduction to the use of test statistics (specifically Welch’s t-test and Pearson’s chi-squared test) as a measure of confidence that a device is leaking secrets through a side-channel and issue a challenge for further exploration.

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