Systematic Literature Review of EM-SCA Attacks on Encryption

TL;DR

This paper systematically reviews electromagnetic side-channel analysis (EM-SCA) attacks on encryption, highlighting vulnerabilities, current defenses, and implications for law enforcement and digital forensics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of EM-SCA techniques, their effectiveness against various encryption algorithms, and discusses their role in digital forensics and law enforcement.

Findings

EM-SCA can effectively retrieve encryption keys from vulnerable devices.

Certain encryption algorithms show resilience against EM-SCA attacks.

EM-SCA techniques are increasingly relevant in digital forensics investigations.

Abstract

Cryptography is vital for data security, but cryptographic algorithms can still be vulnerable to side-channel attacks (SCAs), physical assaults exploiting power consumption and EM radiation. SCAs pose a significant threat to cryptographic integrity, compromising device keys. While literature on SCAs focuses on real-world devices, the rise of sophisticated devices necessitates fresh approaches. Electromagnetic side-channel analysis (EM-SCA) gathers information by monitoring EM radiation, capable of retrieving encryption keys and detecting malicious activity. This study evaluates EM-SCA's impact on encryption across scenarios and explores its role in digital forensics and law enforcement. Addressing encryption susceptibility to EM-SCA can empower forensic investigators in overcoming encryption challenges, maintaining their crucial role in law enforcement. Additionally, the paper defines EM-SCA's current state in attacking encryption, highlighting vulnerable and resistant encryption algorithms and devices, and promising EM-SCA approaches. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of EM-SCA in law enforcement and digital forensics, suggesting avenues for further research.