Power side-channel (PSC) attacks are widely used against embedded microcontrollers, particularly in cryptographic applications, to extract sensitive information. However, expanding the applications of PSC attacks to a broader systems security context, especially in embedded systems, faces significant challenges. These challenges include the need for specialized hardware setups to manage high noise levels in real-world targets and unrealistic assumptions regarding the attacker’s knowledge and capabilities. This paper systematically analyzes these challenges and introduces a novel signalprocessing method that addresses key limitations, enabling effective PSC attacks in real-world embedded systems without requiring hardware modifications. We validate the proposed approach through experiments on real-world black-box embedded devices, verifying its potential to expand its usage in various systems security applications beyond traditional cryptographic applications.
2024
2025-05-02