About
Content
Course Content
Side channels exist in the real world, but they also exist in computers and can be exploited directly from software. This is a substantial computer security problem today, that we need to learn about to be able to stop attacks. In this course, you will learn and practice basic software-based side channels and understand the thought process to utilize a side channel. You will then learn how to mitigate or avoid side channels in software.
Course Goals
After completing this course, you will:
- be able to spot side-channel leakage in simple programs
- be able to use software-based side channels to extract secret information
- be able to connect these security risks with methods to mitigate and close side channels in software
Previous Knowledge
No formal prerequisites but it is expected that you already have started to build up your side-channel security mindset, for instance via the corresponding iMooX course.
Course Procedure
There are 5 parts (episodes+exercises) in this course:
- Episode 1: A Single Trace
Daniel breaks his student card that lets him enter the student lab. Fortunately, they just learned about physical side-channel attacks and so Daniel comes up with a plan how to get his entry back, with simple power analysis.
- Episode 2: What a Difference a Trace Makes
After deciding that simple power analysis is too simple, the flatmates now try to break into the lab again, but this time with a more realistic attack, namely differential power analysis.
- Episode 3: Mask, Hide and Seek
The flatmates realize that differential power analysis is difficult to mitigate, and learn about what can be done and how effective it is. In the end, they figure out that masking with a higher number of shares is the solution they were looking for.
- Episode 4: Where do we go from here?
Jonas realizes that the branch predictor could be an interesting element to mount attacks on the test system. He figures out that the branch predictor exposes side-channel information.
- Episode 5: Prefetch Me If You Can
The flatmates realize that some instructions need to translate virtual addresses to physical ones. As this is a quite long and complicated task, they suspect that there might be some timing side channel in there.
Certificate
For actively participating in the course you will receive an automatic certificate which includes your name, the course name as well as the completed lessons. We want to point out that this certificate merely confirms that you answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly.Licence
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0Discussion
If you prefer a more instant means of communication compared to the iMooX forum, you can join our official community on Discord. Just visit https://discord.gg/rrbazVdAN9 and join SCS's Discord server!
Discussion Guidelines
Both Discord and the discussion forums are where you can express thoughts, develop ideas, and engage with classmates and instructors. Please review discussion postings before posting your own to avoid redundancy. When adding a forum post, mark it as a Question or a Discussion. Questions raise issues that need answers, whereas Discussions share ideas and start conversations. Do not post solutions or links to solutions to quiz questions or homework assignments anywhere. Give your message a meaningful title. Use common writing practices for online communication. Participation on Discord and in the discussion forums is voluntary, but we encourage participation to get to know everyone else taking the course. We, the instructors and TAs, will answer your questions on both platforms of course.
Academic Policy
The course follows the academic policy of TU Graz.
Course Instructor
Daniel Gruß
Daniel Gruss (@lavados) is a University Professor at Graz University of Technology. He loves teaching and research of system-level topics, including side channels and transient execution attacks. He implemented the first remote fault attack running in a website, known as Rowhammer.js. His research team was one of the teams that found the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, published in early 2018. In 2023, he received an ERC Starting Grant to research the sustainability of security. He frequently speaks at top international venues.
Login & Enrol The course starts on 3 نوفمبر 2025. Currently: 0 Participants
Free for all € 0.00
Partners
Graz University of Technology
Graz