Efficient use of random delays in embedded software

Abstract

Random delays are commonly used as a countermeasure to hinder side channel analysis and fault attacks in embedded devices. This paper proposes a different manner of generating random delays, that increases the desynchronisation compared to random delays whose lengths are uniformly distributed. It is also shown that it is possible to reduce the time lost due to the inclusion of random delays, while maintaining the increased desynchronisation1. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2007.