New codes improve security against hardware attacks in cryptography
Constructions of LCPs and LCD codes from twisted Reed-Solomon codes
Information Theory
Summary
Protecting devices from attacks that steal secrets or cause errors is very important. The researchers focused on certain special mathematical codes, called twisted Reed-Solomon codes, to build pairs of codes that work together in a way that enhances security. They figured out when these pairs exist and how to build them, including some best-possible examples. This helps improve methods that protect hardware from certain cyberattacks.
What this means in practice
- •For hardware security engineers: Use newly constructed code pairs to design hardware that resists side-channel and fault-injection attacks more effectively.
- •For cryptographic protocol developers: Incorporate these new error-correcting codes to strengthen protocols relying on orthogonal direct-sum masking techniques.
Authors
Shuo Sun, Wenwen Chen, Chao Liu, Yaozong Zhang, Xiaoqiang Wang
Abstract
Linear complementary pairs (LCPs) and linear complementary dual (LCD) codes have important applications in orthogonal direct-sum masking (ODSM), which provides effective countermeasures against side-channel attacks and fault-injection attacks. While LCD codes have been extensively investigated, comparatively fewer results are available for general LCPs. In this paper, we further investigate LCPs of twisted Reed--Solomon (TRS) codes. We derive necessary conditions for two TRS codes to form an LCP and establish several sufficient conditions and explicit constructions. We also study LCD codes constructed from TRS codes and investigate the security parameters of the resulting LCPs. Furthermore, under suitable conditions, we obtain MDS LCPs of TRS codes.