Side-Channel Attack

Instructor 

Dr. Md Tauhidur Rahman, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Eng, Florida International University, Miami, Florida

Learning Objectives

This module provides a foundational understanding of side-channel analysis, a powerful technique used to extract sensitive information from devices by exploiting their physical behavior. It is used for various purposes—from attacking cryptographic implementations by revealing secret keys or user inputs, to defending systems through anomaly detection, firmware validation, and hardware integrity monitoring. By examining how physical signals such as power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, and timing variations correlate with internal data processing, learners will explore both the offensive capabilities and defensive potential of side-channel techniques across modern computing systems.

This certificate program is designed to equip learners with a comprehensive understanding of side-channel analysis through three integrated units.

• Unit 1: Introduction to Side-channels: this unit introduces the fundamental concepts, types, and applications of side-channels, highlighting how physical signals can leak sensitive information and be used for both attacks and system monitoring. By the end of this unit, learners will understand how physical signals from devices can leak sensitive information. They will learn about different types of side-channels like power, timing, and electromagnetic signals. Learners will also see how these signals are used in both attacks and system protection.
• Unit 2: Side-channel Attacks: Hands-on Experience: this unit provides hands-on experience with side-channel attacks, where students analyze power-side-channel data and interpret them to extract cryptographic secrets and understand real-world vulnerabilities.  In this unit, learners will learn how to analyze power-signal data to extract secret keys from cryptographic encryption using Correlation Power Analysis.
• Unit 3: Side-channel Attacks: Countermeasures: this unit focuses on defense mechanisms against side-channel attacks. Learners will discover how to design and apply countermeasures to protect hardware systems from side-channel threats. They will explore common defense techniques such as noise injection, constant-time algorithms, and hardware shielding. Additionally, they will gain practical experience by implementing these defenses against the side-channel attacks covered in Unit 2.
• Unit 4: Research Series on Side-Channel Attacks: It contains three lectures on practical applications of Side-Channel Attacks.

Together, these modules prepare learners to assess, exploit, and protect systems in the context of physical-layer security.

Target Audience

Designed for U.S. citizens working in the Department of War, Government, or Government-affiliated employees, industry, as well as college students and faculty. Must register with your organizational email, and will be notified of acceptance within one week of the course start date

Biography

Dr. Tauhidur Rahman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University (FIU). He obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida in 2017 (advised by Dr. Mark Tehranipoor). He is the recipient of NSF CRII and the director of the SeRLoP (Security, Reliability, Low-power, and Privacy) Research lab. His research interests include hardware security and trust, side-channel analysis, and embedded security. His research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and CyberFlorida.