INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROTECTED AGAINST HORIZONTAL SIDE CHANNEL ANALYSIS

• US 20110246789A1
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cryptography Research, Inc. (Rambus Inc.)
• Original Assignee: INSIDE Contactless
• Inventors: VERNEUIL, Vincent, ROUSSELLET, Mylene, GAGNEROT, Georges, FEIX, Benoit
• Granted Patent: US 8,572,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/190
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/75 by inhibiting the analysis of circuitry or operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/755 with measures against power attack
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2207/7252 of operation order, e.g. starting to treat the exponent at a random place, or in a randomly chosen direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/723 Modular exponentiation G06F7/724, G06F7/727, G06F7/728 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 1/00 Apparatus or methods whereby a given sequence of signs, e.g. an intelligible text, is transformed into an unintelligible sequence of signs by transposing the signs or groups of signs or by replacing them by others according to a predetermined system cryptographic typewriters G09C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/08 Randomization, e.g. dummy operations or using noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/12 Details relating to cryptographic hardware or logic circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/003 for power analysis, e.g. differential power analysis [DPA] or simple power analysis [SPA]

Abstract

An integrated circuit including a multiplication function configured to execute a multiplication operation of two binary words x and y including a plurality of basic multiplication steps of components xi of word x by components yj of word y is described. The multiplication function of the integrated circuit is configured to execute two successive multiplications by modifying, in a random or pseudo-random manner, an order in which the basic multiplication steps of components xi by components yj are executed.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit comprising a multiplication function configured to execute a multiplication of at least two binary words x and y in a plurality of basic multiplication steps of components xi of word x by components yj of word y, i and j being iteration variables,

wherein the multiplication function is further configured to execute two successive multiplications of binary words x and y by modifying, in a random or pseudo-random manner, an order in which the basic multiplication steps of components xi by components yj are executed.

2. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function is configured to modify, in a random or pseudo-random manner, the order in which the components xi are multiplied with the components yj without modifying one of the order in which the components yj are multiplied with the components xi, or the order in which the components yj are multiplied with the components xi.

3. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function is configured to modify, in a random or pseudo-random manner, both the order in which the components xi are multiplied with the components yj and the order in which the components yj are multiplied with the components xi.

4. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function includes a component configured to generate or receive a random or pseudo-random binary number, and configured to execute the plurality of basic multiplication steps of the components xi by the components yj, for at least one of the iteration variables i or j, according to an order determined by the random or pseudo-random binary number.

5. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function is also configured to randomize at least one of the components xi or yj by way of at least one random or pseudo-random word.

6. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function includes a first operating mode in which the iteration variables are incremented or decremented according to a constant order of multiplication of binary words to another, and a second operating mode wherein at least one of the iteration variables is incremented or decremented in a random or pseudo-random manner from one binary word multiplication to another.

7. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplication function is executed by a hardwired circuit controlled by a sequencer.

8. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a processing function of external data, the execution of which comprises at least one step of conditional branching to at least one first multiplication step of binary words by the multiplication function or a second multiplication step of binary words by the multiplication function, the conditional branching being a function of a private data of the integrated circuit.

9. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein the data processing function is a modular exponentiation function, the private data being an exponent of the modular exponentiation function.

10. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein the data processing function is a cryptographic function including a modular exponentiation function, the private data being an exponent of the modular exponentiation function forming a private key of the cryptographic function.

11. A device comprising an integrated circuit according to claim 1, arranged on or embedded in a support.

12. A process for protecting against a side channel analysis of an integrated circuit configured to execute a multiplication operation of at least two binary words x and y and a plurality of basic multiplication steps of components xi of word x by components yj of word y, i and j being iteration variables, the process comprising:

modifying, in a random or pseudo-random manner, the order in which the integrated circuit executes basic multiplication steps of components xi by components yj, from one multiplication operation of binary words to another.

13. The process according to claim 12, further comprising modifying, in a random or pseudo-random manner, the order in which the integrated circuit multiplies the components xi with the components yj, without modifying one of the order in which the components yj are multiplied with the components xi, or the order in which the components xi are multiplied with the components yj.

14. The process according to claim 12, further comprising modifying, in a random or pseudo-random manner, both the order in which the integrated circuit multiplies the components xi with the components yj and the order in which the integrated circuit multiplies the components yj with the components xi.

15. The process according to claim 12, further comprising:

generating a random or pseudo-random binary number within the integrated circuit; and

making the integrated circuit execute a plurality of basic multiplication steps of the components xi with the components yj according to an order determined by the random or pseudo-random binary number, for at least one of the iteration variables i or j.

16. The process according to claim 12, further comprising randomizing at least one of the components xi or yj by way of at least one random or pseudo-random word.

17. The process according to claim 12, applied to the protection of an integrated circuit comprising a processing function of an external data, the execution of which includes at least one step of conditional branching to at least a first multiplication step of binary words or at least a second multiplication step of binary words, the conditional branching being a function of a private data of the integrated circuit.