SCA Countermeasures for ECC over Binary Fields on a VLIW DSP Core

In recent years, Kocher introduced SCA techniques to the cryptographic community. Contrary to previous cryptanalysis methods that attack the mathematically difficult problems cryptographic techniques are based on, SCAs exploit physical properties of implementations in an attempt to compromise systems. Following the introduction of the new cryptanalysis techniques, numerous algorithms have been proposed that reduce or eliminate their effectiveness. Focusing on ECC, the paper proposes numerous SPA and DPA countermeasures relevant to random and Koblitz curve implementations. The countermeasures are described and briefly analyzed, including stating how they are proposed to reduce the effectiveness of the attacks. The implementation and performance of the countermeasures on a specific DSP is described. Furthermore, power traces of implementations of the techniques are examined for SPA attempts, as well as investigating the effectiveness of simulated DPA attacks on the DSP.