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A Hybrid Simulation Technique for High-Speed and Accurate System-Level Side-Channel Leakage Analysis
DescriptionEvaluating the tolerance of cryptographic modules in application-specific ICs (ASICs) against side-channel (SC) attacks is typically conducted after silicon manufacturing. However, this post-silicon approach faces two major challenges: the high cost and time required for ASIC production, and the inability to pinpoint the sources of unexpected leakage. Simulation-based SC leakage assessments address these issues by enabling evaluations before manufacturing, allowing for immediate design adjustments if required SC leakage tolerance is not met.
This paper presents a hybrid simulation method that integrates logic-based and transistor-level simulations to overcome the limitations of traditional approaches. The proposed method offers high accuracy in assessing SC leakage at the cryptographic core level while also estimating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) across the entire chip. Furthermore, it achieves significantly improved efficiency, generating 1,000 waveforms in 300 hours, which is 282 times higher efficiency compared to conventional chip-level transistor simulations. This hybrid approach enables rapid and precise SC leakage evaluation, facilitating the development of secure cryptographic ASICs with reduced design iteration times and costs.