Side-Channel Security: Developing a Side-Channel Mindset

Contenido del curso

Side channels are everywhere. They are incredibly powerful and have disrupted the world in the last years, especially with attacks like Meltdown and Spectre that impacted most computers on the planet. You also have seen side channels and used them already yourself. In this course, you will learn and practice the side-channel mindset and how to spot side channels in the real-world and how to use them in non-technical and semi-technical settings.

Objetivos de aprendizaje

After completing this course, you will:

• be able to spot side-channel leakage in real world scenarios
• have gained a high-level overview of the history of side channels
• have gained an overview of different side channels relevant today
• be able to connect these security risks with methods to mitigate and close side channels

Requisitos previos

No formal prerequisites.

Horario del curso

There are 5 parts (episodes+exercises) in this course:

- Episode 1: Side Channels are Everywhere

In this episode, the flat mates learn basic definitions and look out for side channels in the real world. Interestingly, we have all been using them already.

- Episode 2: The Door

Daniel and Jonas find a secret door in a dark university cellar. They try various side channels to open the door but in the end find a shocking revelation. You will get to know several side channel techniques.

- Episode 3: The Criminal Mind

Daniel challenges the other flat mates to figure out how to win the card game "The Mind". The flat mates try various side channels to stealthily coordinate and transmit information. You will learn how to find covert channels and covert coordination techniques in the real-world.

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.

This work is licensed under Creative Commons - 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Contenido adicional

Discussion

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.