Titled "Verifiable side-channel security of cryptographic implementations: MEE-CBC constant-time", the paper awarded was co-authored by Gilles Barthe and François Dupressoir, researchers at the IMDEA Software Institute of Madrid, an institute in the computer security area. In this work, researchers present a new approach to developing secure software.

This new solution offers additional protection guarantees against cyber attacks caused by variations in the level of software runtimes. These guarantees are made possible by a new formal verification tool, which makes it possible to validate the defense mechanisms that warn against this type of vulnerability. Moreover, these attacks can subvert the system’s security, seizing cryptographic keys. Thus, according to the researchers, the software must be designed to ensure that the duration of the operations performed does not depend on sensitive information.

The conference Fast Software Encryption 2016 is one of the events organised annually by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), a non-profit association that promotes scientific research in the field of cryptography, information security and other related areas, and is also in charge of major conferences and journals in this field of research.

The INESC TEC researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with UP-FCUP and U.Minho.

INESC TEC, April 2016