Simultaneous Security and EMC Evaluations Based on Measuring Electromagnetic Field Distribution on PCBs

This article introduces a method to simultaneously evaluate the security and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of information devices equipped with cryptographic modules by measuring the electromagnetic (EM) field distribution on a printed circuit board (PCB). The proposed method requires a single correlation analysis above the cryptographic integrated circuit (IC) to define the frequency band of the EM field containing the secret information. Then, focusing on the radiation intensity in the frequency domain, an efficient method capable of obtaining the EM field distribution that contributes to the leakage of confidential information is proposed. Simultaneous EMC and security evaluations can be conducted by analyzing the obtained EM field distribution. Using the proposed method, EM field radiation and information leakage of an actual cryptographic device are analyzed. Compared to conventional methods requiring a large computational resource and analysis time, the proposed method can efficiently obtain the distribution of electric and magnetic fields that cause leakage of confidential information. Lastly, discussion, design guide, and future research directions are briefly provided.