Side-Channel Analysis

A side-channel is information that leaks from the physical execution of an algorithm (its power consumption, execution time, electromagnetic emanations or even sound) rather than from its inputs and outputs. When this leakage correlates with secret-dependent intermediate values, it can be used to recover the secret.

The canonical target is a software or microcontroller implementation of a block cipher (e.g. AES on an Arduino) where the attacker captures a set of power traces while known plaintexts are encrypted.