Side channel leakage source identification in an electronic circuit design

Abstract

A method of identifying, in a circuit design of an electronic circuit, a source of side channel leakage of the electronic circuit. The method comprises: a) simulating over a leakage time interval an operation of the circuit in response to at least one stimulus, thereby deriving for each one of the at least one stimulus per circuit part of the electronic circuit a respective simulated leakage quantity circuit part response over the leakage time interval; b) obtaining for each one of the at least one stimulus an expected leakage quantity response over the leakage time interval from a processing of each one of the at least one stimulus by a leakage model, the leakage model modelling a leak-quantity at a processing of a secure asset; c) determining respective circuit part correlations over the leakage time interval between the respective simulated leakage quantity circuit part responses and the expected leakage quantity responses; d) ranking the circuit parts based on the circuit part correlations between the respective simulated leakage quantity circuit part responses and the expected leakage quantity responses and e) identifying as the source of side channel leakage the circuit part for which a highest one of the circuit correlations has been determined between the expected leakage quantity responses and the respective simulated leakage quantity circuit part responses.