A Dynamic Current Mode Logic to Counteract Power Analysis Attacks

Abstract: Since their publication in 1998, power analysis attacks have attracted significant attention within the cryptographic community. So far, they have been successfully applied to different kinds of implementations (e.g. smart cards, ASICs, FPGAs) of cryptographic algorithms. To protect such devices against power analysis attacks, it has been proposed to use a dynamic and differential logic style for which the power consumption does not depend on the data handled. In this paper, we suggest to use the Dynamic Current Mode Logic to counteract power analysis. The resulting circuits exhibit similar resistance to the previously published proposals but significantly reduce the power delay product. We also demonstrate that certain criteria previously used to evaluate the resistance against power analysis have no cryptographic relevance. 1