side-channel
Unintended information leak
A side-channel is an unintended pathway through which information leaks.
In computing security, a side-channel attack extracts secrets by analyzing physical characteristics—power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, timing variations—rather than breaking encryption directly: Researchers used a side-channel attack to recover the encryption key by measuring how long operations took.
The term extends to any indirect source of information that bypasses normal channels.
Art of choosing moments
- cacheConcealed storage spot
- electromagneticInvolving electric and magnetic fields
- acousticRelating to sound
- thermalPertaining to warmth
differential · spectre · meltdown · cryptanalysis · non-invasive · correlation · oracle
Component that executes instructions
- microchipMiniature semiconductor processor
- cacheConcealed storage spot
- CPUMain computing chip
- memoryMind's retention capacity
bus · transistor · semiconductor · circuit · register · ALU · pipeline · DRAM
Discharged substance or act
- heatTransferred thermal energy
- powerEnergy transfer rate
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- electromagneticInvolving electric and magnetic fields
acoustic · timing · light · vibration · residue · sideband · frequency · memory
Concealing by covering
- blindingPainfully intense light
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- randomizationIntroducing chance systematically
- obfuscationDeliberate concealment through confusion
isolation · hardening · filtering · decoupling · encryption · tamper-resistant
Determining size or amount
- oscilloscopeVoltage waveform display device
- probeThorough examination or tool
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
- statisticalRelating to data analysis
correlation · template · profiling · characterization · reverse-engineering · near-field · antenna · amplifier
timing
Art of choosing moments
- cacheConcealed storage spot
- electromagneticInvolving electric and magnetic fields
- acousticRelating to sound
thermal · differential · spectre · meltdown · cryptanalysis · non-invasive · correlation · oracle
processor
Component that executes instructions
memory · bus · transistor · semiconductor · circuit · register · ALU · pipeline · DRAM · SRAM
emission
Discharged substance or act
electromagnetic · acoustic · timing · light · vibration · residue · sideband · frequency · memory · exfiltration
masking
Concealing by covering
- blindingPainfully intense light
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- randomizationIntroducing chance systematically
obfuscation · isolation · hardening · filtering · decoupling · encryption · tamper-resistant
measurement
Determining size or amount
- oscilloscopeVoltage waveform display device
- probeThorough examination or tool
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
statistical · correlation · template · profiling · characterization · reverse-engineering · near-field · antenna · amplifier · sampling
side-channeldirect attack
Offensive without concealment
brute force · direct access · frontal assault · main channel · buffer overflow
side, sides, sided, siding, sidelong, sideways, sideward, sidewise, beside