Description and lab research areas

Security research is not just fun: it can have a real impact on keeping our society free and safe. The field of implementation security deals with studying the security of actual physical systems, both by attacking them and by proposing ways to defend against attacks. Even the best, most secure algorithm is useless if it’s not implemented carefully, and our job is to make sure that happens.

One main purpose of the Implementation Security Lab is to carry out side-channel attacks -– cyber attacks that allow the extraction of secret information from various devices by exploiting their precise physical behaviors (such as power consumption, electromagnetic emanations, heat or vibration). The lab, which is established with support from the Israeli Science Foundation and the Israeli National Cyber Security Bureau, is based on knowledge collected as part of the EU-funded project ECRYPT. In the lab we use highly sensitive measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, wideband receivers and signal generators, and apply advanced techniques such as correlation power analysis, differential power analysis and template attacks to assess the impact of side-channel attacks by measuring the leakage of a target device, such as an IoT device, under test.

Not all side-channel attacks require knowledge in electrical engineering and a fancy lab. Micro-architectural side-channel attacks, in particular cache attacks, are a very interesting type of attack which targets PCs and smartphones. These attacks require nothing more than a web browser and some Javascript code. The Lab’s new home in the Weinstein Building in Ben-Gurion University includes a custom-designed space with a central location for sensitive measurement apparatus, lab benches for measurement work and for work with electronics hand tools, and ample shelf space for the other components. If you want to study side-channel attacks in Israel, there is simply no better place.

Required elements for research-based postdoc applications
Education: Graduate degree in computer science, computer engineering or electrical engineering. Experience outside academia will also be acknowledged.
Qualifications and experience: Looking for good communicators, who are willing both to learn and to teach.

Contact details: 
[email protected]
Building 96, Room 301
Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering
Faculty of Engineering Sciences
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O.B. 653
Beer-Sheva 8410501 Israel
+972 (74) 779-5122