On any advanced integrated circuit or "system-on-chip" there is a need
for security. In many applications the actual implementation has become
the weakest link in security rather than the algorithms or protocols.
The purpose of this book is to give the integrated circuits and systems
designer an insight into the basics of security and cryptography from
the implementation point of view. The book successfully fills a gap
between the crypto community and the designers of integrated circuits
and systems. As a designer of integrated circuits and systems it is
important to know both the state-of-the-art attacks as well as the
countermeasures. Optimizing for security is different from optimizations
for speed, area, or power consumption. It is therefore difficult to
attain the delicate balance between the extra cost of security measures
and the added benefits.