sidechannel

Noun

sidechannel (plural sidechannels)

1. (security) An indirect source of information about what a system is doing, such as execution time, version number, etc.
   • VLSI circuits are open to sidechannel attacks which disclose information about its internal state to an adversary.2005, Subhamoy Maitra, C.E. Veni Madhavan, Ramarathnam Venkatesan, Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2005, →ISBN
   • Timing attacks are an example of sidechannel analysis: examining ways a device can inadvertently transmit information, in addition to its official I/O channels.2007, Sean Smith, John Marchesini, The Craft of System Security, →ISBN
2. A small branch from the main flow of a river, hydraulic system, or electronic circuit.
   • Juvenile growth and survivorship is likely to be reduced by cumulative losses of pool volume and sedimentation of shallow rearing areas such as stream margins and sidechannels.2001, Bitterroot National Forest (N.F.), Burned Area Recovery, Final Environmental Impact Statement
   • Among all 16 fish, eight showed an association with sidechannel habitat during the spring, being either located in a sidechannel or residing in the mainstem within one habitat unit of where a sidechannel flowed into the mainstem.2007, Travis B. Sanderson, Habitat Diversity and Access to Tributaries are Important to Adult Snake River Cutthroat Trout Residing in the Salt River, Wyoming (MS thesis, University of Wyoming), →ISBN