Cache Leaks Without Timers with Fabian Thomas

Smartphones, laptops, the cloud – all of them are supposed to be more secure because certain attack techniques are now blocked. Sounds reassuring, right? Too bad processors can still reveal more to attackers than they should. In this episode of CISPA TL;DR, CISPA researcher Fabian Thomas explains how modern ARM processors can be manipulated to leak even sensitive information. Together with his team, he has shown that internal cache states can be made visible – even without the measurement tools attackers usually rely on. The conversation explores how ExfilState, a tool developed by Fabian and his colleagues, automatically uncovers these hidden leaks, why side-channel attacks are so difficult to prevent, and what users should pay attention to. The interview was conducted in German and is now available here and on all major podcast platforms.