THE CPA QUALIFICATION METHOD BASED ON THE GAUSSIAN CURVE FITTING
Abstract: The Correlation
Power Analysis (CPA) attack is an attack on cryptographic devices, especially smart
cards. The results of the attack are correlation traces. Based on the
correlation traces, an evaluation is done to observe whether significant peaks
appear in the traces or not. The evaluation is done manually, by experts. If
significant peaks appear then the smart card is not considered secure since it
is assumed that the secret key is
revealed. We develop
a method that
objectively detects peaks
and decides which
peak is significant. We
conclude that using
the Gaussian curve
fitting method, the subjective
qualification of the
peak significance can be objectified. Thus, better decisions can be
taken by security experts. We also conclude that the Gaussian curve fitting
method is able to show the influence of peak sizes, especially the width and
height, to a significance of a particular peak.
Keywords: Cryptography, side
channel attack, correlation
power analysis, smart
cards, significant peak detection, Gaussian curve fitting
Author: M.T. Adithia
Journal Code: jptinformatikagg150006
