US 2022/0286270 A1 · FAULT ATTACK RESISTANT CRYPTOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS AND METHODS

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods that prevent against fault injection attacks. In various embodiments this is accomplished by taking advantage of the fact that an attacker cannot utilize a result that has been faulted to recover a secret. By using infective computation, an error is propagated in a loop such that the faulted value will provide to the attacker no useful information or information from which useful information may be extracted. Faults from a fault attack will be so large that a relatively large number of bits will change. As a result, practically no secret information can be extracted by restoring bits.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for carrying out computations, the method comprising:

using a secret in a computation that outputs an expected number, the secret causes the computation to output an incorrect result in the event that the computation has been subject to one or more manipulations such that, in the event of an attack, no information is revealed from which confidential information may be extracted;
comparing the expected number to a number calculated by the computation;
based on the comparison, determining whether the computation is valid;
in response to the computation being invalid, generating an error indicating that the computation has been subject to the one or more manipulations;
and
in response to the computation being valid, removing an effect of the secret from the expected number to output a correct result.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

17/824,912Filed 26 May 2022

Priority

FR 18593379 Oct 2018

Published

8 Sep 2022

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G06F 17/18
Complex mathematical operations: for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression…
H04L 9/004
Countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms: for fault attacks
G06F 21/556
Detecting local intrusion or implementing counter-measures: involving covert channels, i.e. data leakage between processes
H04L 9/0861
Key distribution or management, e.g. generation, sharing or updating, of cryptographic keys or passwords: generation of secret information…

Fault attack resistant cryptographic systems and methods

Life of this patent

Fault attack resistant cryptographic systems and methods

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20