FORTRESS Explained #4

FORTRESS Explained #4:

What is side-channel analysis?

Side-channel analysis (SCA) exploits physical signals — power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, timing — that a device emits while performing cryptographic operations. These signals correlate with the secret values being processed, allowing an attacker with physical access to recover private keys without ever touching the software.

Why does this matter for post-quantum cryptography?

Post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) schemes are newer, less studied in practice, and often more complex than their classical counterparts. That complexity creates more surface area for leakage. The research community has already published attacks against early PQC implementations using power analysis, and the field is moving fast.

In FORTRESS, we evaluate the physical security of its Root of Trust systematically, covering the digital signature and secure communication components where leakage would be most damaging. Physical attack testing is embedded into the development process from the start, grounded in published attacks and extended with original analysis of the demonstrator. The goal is a level of assurance that holds not just on paper, but under real adversarial conditions.