https://github.com/danpage/scale
SCALE: Side-Channel Attack Lab. Exercises
https://github.com/danpage/scale
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SCALE: Side-Channel Attack Lab. Exercises
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/danpage/scale
- Owner: danpage
- License: cc-by-sa-4.0
- Created: 2018-06-13T07:47:41.000Z (about 8 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2023-09-20T15:01:30.000Z (over 2 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-09-11T10:02:50.141Z (9 months ago)
- Homepage:
- Size: 21.5 KB
- Stars: 43
- Watchers: 5
- Forks: 14
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE.txt
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-embedded-security - SCALE - Side-Channel Attack Lab Exercises providing educational material for learning power analysis attacks with low-cost hardware. (Hardware Tools / Side-Channel Analysis)
README
# SCALE: Side-Channel Attack Lab. Exercises
## Concept
Alongside the implementation of cryptography in hardware *and* software,
attacks on those implementations (plus associated countermeasures) form
a central challenge in
[cryptographic engineering](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic_engineering).
This topic is sometimes termed physical security, but, either way, it
contrasts sharply with
traditional [cryptanalysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis)
by targeting the concrete implementation (vs. the abstract design, i.e.,
the underlying theory) via techniques such as
[side-channel attack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-channel_attack).
Beyond the obvious motivation, there are many position statements, e.g.,
see [1,2,3], that outline why this challenge is important. Thus, from
an educational perspective, the question is how to equip students with
an appropriate, associated skill set?
On one hand, it seems obvious a hands-on approach is preferable: this is
an applied topic so actually *doing* it (assuming a background in the
underlying or related theory), e.g., via
[Problem-Based Learning (PBL)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem-based_learning),
would be most effective. Indeed, other initiatives have already used a
similar approach, e.g., see [4].
However, on the other hand, our experience is that some practical and/or
logistical challenges remain. In particular, a PBL-based approach will
demand some "problems" and, potentially, infrastructure for students to
use. This facts act as a driver for the SCALE project: the goal is to
provide a suite of material related to side-channel (and fault) attacks
that is
- low-cost (i.e., has few if any barriers to use),
- accessible (i.e., offers a balanced, configurable difficulty level, between real-world and educationally focused examples),
- relevant (e.g., addresses modern challenges with tangible value and impact),
- coherent (e.g., well documented and supported), and
- effective (i.e., elicits appropriate learning outcomes).
## Quickstart
Over time, SCALE has evolved in different directions; the content is
therefore captured by material in several repositories. Each one is
organised as a
[submodules](http://www.git-scm.com/docs/git-submodule):
- The `sw`
sub-module houses the
[software-oriented material](http://www.github.com/danpage/scale-sw):
the goal is to provide a set of high-level,
[CTF](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_the_flag#Computer_security)-like
exercises that offer controlled, simulated environments in which to
learn about various attack techniques.
- The `hw`
sub-module houses the
[hardware-oriented material](http://www.github.com/danpage/scale-hw):
the goal is to provide a set of low-level,
concrete hardware platforms that are tailored toward learning about
[side-channel attacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-channel_attack)
based on
[power analysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_analysis).
- The `data`
sub-module houses the
[ data-oriented material](http://www.github.com/danpage/scale-data):
the goal is to provide some (pre-acquired) data sets, each relating
to one of the platforms in the hardware-oriented material but that
can be used without physical access to the associated hardware.
This means each one is motivated per the above, but differs in terms
of focus and content. Since they remain somewhat independent, they
can be selectively populated and used:
- Clone the repo.
```sh
git clone https://github.com/danpage/scale.git ./scale
cd ./scale
```
- *Either*
- populate *all* content via
```sh
git submodule update --init --recursive
```
*or*
- populate *some* content via
```sh
git submodule update --init --recursive sw
git submodule update --init --recursive hw
git submodule update --init --recursive data
```
selectively removing commands to reflect the content you need.
This ability can be important: the size (and thus download time) of
the data-oriented material is significant, for example, and it will
not be applicable in all contexts or to all users.
## References
1. S. Ravi, A. Raghunathan, P.C. Kocher, and S. Hattangady.
[Security in embedded systems: design challenges](http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1015047.1015049).
ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems (TECS), 3(3), 461--491, 2004.
2. S. Ravi, P.C. Kocher, R.B. Lee, G. McGraw, and A. Raghunathan.
[Security as a new dimension in embedded system design](http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=996771).
Design Automation Conference (DAC), 753--760, 2004.
3. W. Burleson, O. Mutlu, and M. Tiwari.
[Who is the major threat to tomorrow's security? You, the hardware designer](http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2897937.2905022).
Design Automation Conference (DAC), 16:1--16:5, 2016.
4. F. Bruguier, P. Benoit, L. Torres, and L. Bossuet.
[Hardware security: From concept to application](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7496483/).
European Workshop on Microelectronics Education (EWME), 2016.