Side-channel attacks and countermeasures for heart rate retrieval from ECG characterization device

With a rapid advance of the technology, side-channel attacks are gaining more attention in the security evaluation of electronic devices. The impact of the attacks on medical devices can be very dangerous: from retrieving private health data to attacking implantable devices causing life-threatening situations. This paper investigates the vulnerabilities of ECG characterization devices to power side-channel attacks and proposes power supply voltage modulation as a countermeasure. Experimental results indicate that random voltage modulation can effectively obscure heart rate retrieval from leaked power signals. Sine modulation is less effective and can be canceled by demodulation at the sine frequency visible in the leaked signal spectrum.