Hardware Security
Which describes a side-channel attack?
- AAn attack trying passwords head-on by brute force
- BAn attack flooding a network to stop a service
- CAn attack inferring secrets from physical information other than the intended output, such as processing time, power consumption or emitted electromagnetic waves
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. An attack inferring secrets from physical information other than the intended output, such as processing time, power consumption or emitted electromagnetic waves
Even if a cryptographic algorithm is mathematically secure, the circuit running it varies slightly in timing and power depending on the values it handles. A side-channel attack measures information leaking through these side paths and analyzes it statistically to infer secrets such as keys. Countermeasures make timing and power independent of secret values or hide the leakage with noise and randomness.
- A. That is a brute-force attack.
- B. That is a denial-of-service attack.
- C. Correct. It extracts information without breaking the cryptographic math itself.