It's a Kind of Magic: A Novel Conditional GAN Framework for Efficient Profiling Side-Channel Analysis

Sengim Karayalcin, Marina Krcek, Lichao Wu, Stjepan Picek, Guilherme Perin

Abstract: Profiling side-channel analysis (SCA) is widely used to evaluate the security of cryptographic implementations under worst-case attack scenarios. This method assumes a strong adversary with a fully controlled device clone, known as a profiling device, with full access to the internal state of the target algorithm, including the mask shares. However, acquiring such a profiling device in the real world is challenging, as secure products enforce strong life cycle protection, particularly on devices that allow the user partial (e.g., debug mode) or full (e.g., test mode) control. This enforcement restricts access to profiling devices, significantly reducing the effectiveness of profiling SCA.