Reality Check on Side-Channels - Lessons Learnt from Breaking AES on ARM Cortex-A72 Processor with Out-of-Order Execution

Explore a comprehensive security research presentation examining side-channel analysis attacks on modern high-performance processors. Learn how researchers from Temasek Laboratories and Nanyang Technological University successfully demonstrated key recovery attacks against AES encryption running on ARM Cortex-A72 processors with out-of-order execution capabilities, commonly found in smartphones. Discover the practical challenges and methodologies involved in attacking complex systems beyond traditional low-end microcontrollers, including evaluation of multiple threat models ranging from basic to advanced approaches. Understand how deep learning-based side-channel analysis techniques can overcome the limitations of basic attack methods on sophisticated processor architectures. Gain insights into the multi-tier evaluation framework essential for comprehensive security risk assessment and informed decision-making regarding mitigation strategies that balance security requirements with performance and area constraints in modern computing systems.