CAREER: Non-Black-Box Cryptography: Defending Against and Benefiting from Access to Code

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Cryptography is an essential and widespread tool for providing information security. Traditional cryptographic models assume only black-box, or input/output access to devices, thereby limiting the class of attacks. In practice, an attacker may obtain non-black-box access to a device and attack a particular algorithm or specific implementation such as through timing or fault injection attacks. Exploiting non-black-box access has been a remarkably effective technique for compromising cryptosystems. This project investigates mechanisms to protect against such non-black box attacks. The research goals of this proposal are: (1) design and analyze new algorithms for secure computation in threat models that capture non-black-box attacks, and (2) provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of non-black-box techniques in the construction of cryptosystems.