Efficient Solution for Misalignment of Signal in Side Channel Analysis

Abstract

Side channel analysis like differential power analysis (DPA) has been known as an efficient attack for uncovering secret data of cryptosystems. However, the temporal misalignment of side channel signals is an issue of concern that destabilizes side channel attack efficiency. In this paper, we propose a new method to surmount the misalignment problem in DPA. The performance of the proposed method is then evaluated while analyzing the electromagnetic signals of a synthesized ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) during a DES (data encryption standard) operation. The experimental results show that our method allows to detect efficiently the secret key with a small number of side channel signals during a short time. Its performance is then compared to that of the original DPA and of the frequency-based DPA, the current solution for the signal misalignment in side channel attacks.