Welcome to the resource topic for 2023/920
Title:
Beware Your Standard Cells! On Their Role in Static Power Side-Channel Attacks
Authors: Jitendra Bhandari, Likhitha Mankali, Mohammed Nabeel, Ozgur Sinanoglu, Ramesh Karri, Johann Knechtel
Abstract:The increase in leakage power from advanced tech nodes elevates the risk of static power side-channel (S-PSC) attacks. While protective measures exist, they involve a security cost trade-off. Hardware Trojans, particularly PSC-based ones, represent another significant threat. Despite acknowledging the link between static power leakage, advanced tech nodes, and vulnerability to S-PSC attacks, the role of the components at the heart of this sensitive interplay – the standard cells – has not been extensively studied in commercial-grade IC design. We analyze this relationship for commercial 28nm and 65nm nodes using a regular AES design. Our CAD framework permits design optimization while assessing S-PSC vulnerability. Contrary to the belief that high-performance designs are more vulnerable, we find timing constraints and threshold-voltage cell ratios are pivotal factors. Also, we discover that an attacker can deploy highly effective, stealthy PSC-based Trojans without any gate overheads or compromising timing paths.
ePrint: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/920
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