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Lawson , Root Labs When it comes to cryptographic software, side
channels are an often-overlooked threat. A side channel is any
observable side effect of computation that an attacker could
measure and possibly influence. In the software world, side-
channel attacks have sometimes been dismissed as impractical.
However, new system architecture features, such as larger cache
sizes and multicore processors, have increased the prevalence of
side channels and quality of measurement available to an
attacker. This article explains three recent side-channel
attacks on cryptographic software, exploiting a comparison
function, CPU cache timing, and branch prediction logic to
recover a secret key. Software developers must be aware of the
potential for side-channel attacks and plan appropriately.
cryptography, side channel attack, timing attack, AES, Advanced
Encryption Standard, RSA, HMAC, Hash Message Authentication
Code, CPU cache, branch prediction logic, mu