side-channel

Noun

side-channel (plural side-channels)

1. An indirect source of information about what a system is doing.
   • Security against side-channel attacks is especially significant in situations where ciphers are implemented in hardware like smart cards or tamper-resistant devices, where secrets are meant to be closely guarded and thus no room for compromise via leakage of secrets.2006, Josep Domingo-Ferrer, Joachim Posegga, Daniel Schreckling, Smart Card Research and Advanced Applications, →ISBN
   • This attack has been applied by Klima et al. to popular realworld implementations of the SSL protocol by incorporating an additional side-channel which was a version number check over PKCS#1 plaintext [17].2012, Sara Foresti, Moti Young, Fabio Martinelli, Computer Security -- ESORICS 2012, →ISBN
2. A branch from the main flow
   • The primary concerns in the development of side-channel habitat are channel stability, potential for deposition and burial, and disturbance of existing riparian and wetland habitats.1998, Sacramento River Bank Projection Project, Implementation of Streambank Protection for the Lower American River
   • Access to side-channels by baseflows (i.e., the side-channel entrance is just barely inundated) does not necessarily create 1+ coho habitat, although seepage into side-channel segments may have created important habitat toward the lower portions of some side-channels.2006, Hydropower Relicensing, Clackamas River Hydroelectric Project: Environmental Impact Statement