CRII: SaTC: Reliable Hardware Architectures Against Side-Channel Attacks for Post-Quantum Cryptographic Algorithms

量子计算的快速发展威胁到了传统计算机系统的安全，因为它们使用了一种名为公钥的加密形式，如果量子计算取得进展，这种加密将不再安全。为避免这一安全问题而开发的新方法被称为后量子密码学(PQC)，美国国家标准与技术研究所(NIST)在2016年领导了一项标准化量子抵抗公钥方法的努力。NIST最近选择了四种算法进行标准化，并选择了其他三种算法作为潜在的候选算法。然而，这些算法并不是没有漏洞，而且大多数算法都容易受到某些类型的网络攻击和环境导致的故障的影响。此类漏洞可能导致对敏感信息的未经授权访问和系统故障。该项目旨在对PQC算法进行严格的评估，并针对这些威胁设计、模拟和实施量身定制的对策。这一前沿研究将被纳入研究生水平的课程。该项目旨在通过对现有算法的详细分析，识别SCA的漏洞，并制定针对此类攻击和环境导致的故障的对策，来推进PQC领域的发展。由于推导这种技术的复杂性，将需要进行软件模拟来验证这些数学推导。经过严格的软件模拟，这些对策将被集成到FGPA或ASIC等原始硬件体系结构中，以评估它们的实际管理费用，重点是与军事、政府和商业部门中普遍存在的严重受限的嵌入式系统的兼容性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The rapid developments in quantum computing threaten the security of traditional computer systems, because they use a form of encryption called public-key, that will no longer be secure if quantum computing advances. New approaches developed to avert this security problem are known as Post-quantum cryptography (PQC), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) led a 2016 effort to standardize quantum-resistant public-key approaches. NIST has recently selected four algorithms for standardization and has chosen three other algorithms as potential candidates. However, these algorithms are not without vulnerabilities, and the majority are susceptible to both certain types of cyber attacks and environmentally induced faults. Such vulnerabilities can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information and system failure. This project aims to perform a rigorous evaluation of the PQC algorithms and to design, simulate, and implement tailored countermeasures against these threats. This cutting-edge research will be incorporated into graduate-level courses.This project aims to advance the field of PQC by performing a detailed analysis of existing algorithms, identifying vulnerabilities to SCAs, and formulating countermeasures against such attacks and environmentally induced faults. Due to the complex nature of deriving such techniques, software simulations will need to be done to verify these mathematical derivations. Following rigorous software simulations, these countermeasures will be integrated into the original hardware architectures such as FGPA or ASIC to assess their real-world overheads, with a focus on compatibility with deeply constrained embedded systems prevalent in the military, governmental, and commercial sectors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.