Advanced Integrated Circuit Anti-Tamper Methods

In this Phase I SBIR project, The Athena Group, Inc. will develop an analytic methodology in order to derive practical metrics that can be used early in the design process for power analysis countermeasures in cryptographic design implementations. These metrics may be used iteratively during the design process in conjunction with established design tools and methodology and prior to costly and time consuming fabrication and laboratory testing of implementations to produce results that are designed up to the requirements for resistance against specific classes of power analysis attacks. The impact of this innovation will be to reduce cost and schedule risks associated with the implementation of power analysis attack countermeasures and to provide a deterministic measure of attack resistance now and in the future. Athena expects that the analytic methodology will also be applicable to similar attacks and countermeasures based on electromagnetic emanations. The establishment of this analytic methodology will lead to a greater understanding of side-channel attacks, in general, and may suggest new countermeasures or produce quantitative means of establishing protocol-level countermeasure thresholds, such as cryptographic key lifetimes. BENEFIT: Athena will market cryptographic implementations that incorporate the quality improvements enabled by Athena"s analytic design methodology to military and commercial electronics manufacturers. The adoption of these implementations will enable more predictable performance of cryptographic implementations against side-channel attacks, while lowering time-to-market and implementation development costs, thus enabling more widespread adoption of cryptographic protection.