US Rambus DPA Workstation
Subchannel information analysis and evaluation system
Kuntec secures the capability to perform analytical evaluations

On the 25th, Kuntek announced that it had supplied the 'DPA Work Station (Different Power Analysis Work Station),' a side-channel attack analysis and response platform from Rambus Cryptography, the original technology holder for DPA (side-channel analysis), to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and Kookmin University.

KISA and Kookmin University introduced the DPA workstation for 'verification and research on the side-channel security of cryptographic modules.' A cryptographic module is something that can implement cryptographic functions such as encryption (symmetric/asymmetric), random number generation, prime number determination, hashing, electronic signature, and authentication in the form of software, hardware, firmware, or a combination of these.

With the continuous increase in the use of smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs and the advancement of IoT technology, various home IoT devices are appearing, and the types of smart devices are also becoming very diverse. Accordingly, the types of intrusion threats are also becoming more diverse, and simply building an encryption system can no longer guarantee perfect security. While direct threats to passwords are increasing, side-channel attacks, which are bypass attacks using password systems, are also increasing.

Side channel attack is an attack technique that uses the physical information of the cryptographic system, and is a very powerful cryptographic system attack. When the electronic cryptographic system performs the cryptographic algorithm for user authentication, it analyzes the side channel information such as electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic signal amount, and power consumption to guess the cryptographic key and obtain the information the attacker wants. In particular, as the number of products that handle sensitive personal information increases, the damage and confusion are becoming much greater and more dangerous.

Rambus' DPA Workstation is a cryptographic module security assessment tool and the world's first side-channel testing platform. DPA Workstation, a system that can analyze and evaluate side-channel information of cryptographic systems, supports analysis and evaluation of all cryptographic systems using organized and automated power signal collection and analysis processes, and enables power and signal analysis right away without additional installation. It provides ISO/IEC 17825:2016 password evaluation international standard and international standard security test compliance profiles (CC certification, FIPS 140, EMVco, DoD Anti-tamper, Payment and Card Industry, etc.), and provides related source code for easy modification and expansion.

Kuntek CEO Bang Hyuk-jun said, “Recently, due to IoT, end users can easily obtain devices that handle sensitive information, which increases the possibility of side-channel attacks. It is known that various side-channel attacks are being attempted in China and other countries.”

He continued, “In order to secure the safety of future smart cities and IoT, it is necessary to understand various types of side-channel attacks and implement countermeasures against them.”

In addition, “Since 2016, Kuntec has been supplying DPA attack equipment and algorithms and modules that can defend against attacks together with professional engineers who have completed the DPA training program, and has secured the ability to perform analysis and evaluation,” the company said. “We plan to continuously conduct research and investment to be able to fully respond to the ever-increasing risk of side-channel attacks.”