Protecting block cipher computation operations from external monitoring attacks

Abstract

Systems and methods for protecting block cipher computation operations, from external monitoring attacks. An example apparatus for implementing a block cipher may comprise: a first register configured to store a first pre-computed mask value represented by a combination of a first random value and a second random value; a second register configured to store an output mask value, wherein the output mask value is an inverse permutation function of the first random value; a third register configured to store a second pre-computed mask value represented by a combination the first pre-computed mask value and a permutation function of the output mask value; a fourth register configured to store an input mask value, wherein the input mask value is a combination of an expansion function of the first random value and a key mask value; a non-linear transformation circuit configured to apply the expansion function to a masked round state, perform a non-linear transformation of a combination of a masked key with an output of the expansion function, and apply the permutation function to the output of the non-linear transformation, wherein the non-linear transformation is defined using the input mask value stored in the fourth register and the output mask value stored in the second register; and two round feedback circuits configured to swap the masked round state produced by the non-linear transformation and combine the masked round state with the first pre-computed mask value stored in the first register and the second pre-computed mask value stored in the third register.