Implementation of AES using NVM memories based on comparison function

Abstract

Nowadays, cryptography is widely used in many different devices (smartphones, tablets, computers, etc.). One of the most used cryptographic algorithms is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). Crocus Technology is developing a technology called Match-In-Place TM (MIP). This is a memory based on comparison function. With this technology, data stored in the memory can be compared to an input data. The main expectation of this technology is that, during this comparison, no information leaks from the memory, which is interesting against side channel attacks. This assumption has been verified by simulation but not in practice yet. This paper proposes a new secure AES implementation based on the MIP technology. The use of this particular technology allows to protect the key in a secure environment to prevent attackers from retrieving it. MIP also allows a very low silicon area implementation of AES.