AES software and hardware system co-design for resisting side channel attacks

Abstract

The threat of side-channel attacks poses a significant risk to the security of cryptographic algorithms. To counter this threat, we have designed an AES system capable of defending against such attacks, supporting AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256 encryption standards. In our system, the CPU oversees the AES hardware via the AHB bus and employs true random number generation to provide secure random inputs for computations. The hardware implementation of the AES S-box utilizes complex domain inversion techniques, while intermediate data is shielded using full-time masking. Furthermore, the system incorporates double-path error detection mechanisms to thwart fault propagation. Our results demonstrate that the system effectively conceals key power information, providing robust resistance against CPA attacks, and is capable of detecting injected faults, thereby mitigating fault-based attacks.