- Status: Project phase
Background
Side channel attacks (SCA) are attacks that aim to obtain hidden information, uncover properties of program routines or physically implement cryptographic systems. Information such as passwords, encryption keys or other sensitive data on electronic chips can be uncovered by analyzing physical characteristics of the system such as power consumption, electromagnetic emissions or the time sequence of processes during operation. The attacks can also be used to circumvent security measures, in particular specific encryption, and therefore pose a threat to the confidentiality of data. Various types of sensors can be used for these attacks.
Quantum sensors are any sensors that use the properties of quantum mechanics to optimize precision in their intended field of application and exceed the limits of conventional sensors. They are used in many different ways, e.g. in microscopes, in systems for position determination (trapped atoms/ions), in communication (photonics), in the measurement of electromagnetic fields (NV centers, atoms, SQUIDs), in seismology and time measurement (atomic clocks). They achieve accuracies that in some cases far exceed those of conventional sensors.
Aim
The research program “Side-Channel Attacks with Quantum Sensing” (SCA-QS) aims to identify potential new attack vectors on microchips using quantum sensors. In principle, quantum sensor technology (QS) offers the possibility of measuring physical quantities with higher resolution, sensitivity or otherwise better. The suitability of different physical quantum sensing approaches for side channel attacks (SCA) on microchips will therefore be evaluated and analyzed in comparison with current methods. In addition, the program aims to network scientists from the fields of quantum sensor technology and side-channel attacks in order to facilitate a long-term exchange. The target Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at the end of the project is 3 to 4, depending on the technology.
Disruptive Risk Research
The program combines two areas that otherwise have no overlap: that of classical side-channel analysis and that of quantum sensor technology. As part of the program, they will be brought together to explore the potential of quantum sensor technology for novel side-channel attacks.