Patent · US Expired

Cryptographic device having reduced vulnerability to side-channel attack and method of operating same

US6724894B1 · kind B1 · utility

49Cited by
10References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 5, 1999
Grant dateApr 20, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 5, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L2209/56
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A cryptographic device and method of operation for encrypting messages. The device can be incorporated into a postage metering system to provide cryptographically secured postal indicia. The device and method provide increased security against side-channel attacks such as differential power analysis (DPA). An encryption key is transformed with a first function to generate temporary key as a function of a random number. A message is encrypted with the temporary key to generate a modified message. The modified message is transformed with a second function to generate an encryption. The encryption generated is identical to a direct encryption of the message with the untransformed key. The temporary key is changed frequently to protect against side-channel attacks.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.