# 286: Twenty Cans of Gas (Repeat)

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2021-11-12
- Length: 1h 00m
- Episode: 286
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat
- Listen: https://embedded.fm/episodes/286-repeat

## Summary

Colin O'Flynn, CTO of NewAE Technology and an assistant professor, discusses his company's ChipWhisperer platform, which enables side-channel power analysis and fault injection attacks on embedded devices. He explains how differential power analysis recovers encryption keys by correlating power consumption with data bus activity, noting that while the technique is decades old, many IoT devices remain vulnerable. O'Flynn also covers FPGA design for precise timing, software countermeasures like masking, and the ethical implications of making security research tools accessible to both defenders and attackers.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=6) Introduction and ChipWhisperer Overview
- [7:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=442) How Differential Power Analysis Works
- [15:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=957) Countermeasures and Hardware Defenses
- [30:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=1840) Ethics of Open Source Security Tools
- [37:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=2234) From PhD to Startup: NewAE's Origin
- [46:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=2792) FPGA Design and High-Level Synthesis
- [53:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-11-12-286-twenty-cans-of-gas-repeat#t=3222) Company Hiring and Giveaway

## Topics

- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- ChipWhisperer (product)
- NewAE Technology (company)
- Atmel (company)
- NXP (company)
- LPC55S66 (chip)
- Hackaday Prize (other)
- Fpga4fun.com (other)
- TinyFPGA (product)
- MyHDL (tool)
- Vivado (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [038 - My Favorite Random Number is 5](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-08-23-038-my-favorite-random-number-is-5) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [An Interview with Colin O'Flynn - Aspirated Adamantine Attacks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-03-05-an-interview-with-colin-oflynn-aspirated-adamantine-attacks) (The Amp Hour)
- [Shouting at chips with Colin O'Flynn](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-02-shouting-at-chips-with-colin-oflynn) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Dmitry Nedospasov](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-06-17-an-interview-with-dmitry-nedospasov) (The Amp Hour)
- [Hardware Security with Matt Brown](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-07-17-hardware-security-with-matt-brown) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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