Enabling Power Side-Channel Attack Simulation on Mixed-Signal Neural Network Accelerators

Due to the tremendous success of Deep Learning with neural networks (NNs) in recent years and the simultaneous leap of embedded, low-power devices (e.g. wearables, smart-phones, IoT, and smart sensors), enabling the inference of those NNs in power-constrained environments gave rise to specialized NN accelerators. One paradigm followed by many of those accelerators was the transition from digital domain computing towards performing operations in the analog domain, turning them from digital to mixed-signal NN accelerators. While power-efficiency and inference accuracy have been researched with increasing interest, security and protection against a side-channel attack (SCA) have not found much attention. However, side-channels pose a major security concern by allowing an attacker to steal valuable knowledge about proprietary NNs deployed on accelerators. In order to evaluate mixed-signal NNs accelerators concerning SCA robustness, its tendency to leak information through the side-channel needs investigation. In this work, we propose a methodology for enabling side-channel analysis of mixed-signal NNs accelerators, which shows reasonable accuracy in an early development stage. The approach enables the reuse of large portions of design sources for simulation and production while providing flexibility and fast development cycles for changes to the analog design.