Microprocessor Exertion Could Expose Encryption Keys

Details of a possible weakness in the way modern microchips process cryptographic information have been published by an international team of researchers.

The flaw could let a hacker steal the cryptographic keys used to protect sensitive communications and financial transactions, simply by monitoring the amount of effort the microchip is expending, the researchers claim.

Jean-Pierre Seifert, who is affiliated with the University of Haifa, Israel, and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and colleagues posted their findings online on Saturday.

The team say the problem is the result of a trick employed by modern microchips to speed up information processing, called "branch prediction". This involves second-guessing whether the logical flow of a computer program will follow one branch or another, prior to its actual execution.