Since the 1990s, researchers have known that commonly-used public-key cryptosystems (such as RSA and Diffie-Hellman systems) could be potentially broken using an efficient algorithm running on a hypothetical quantum computer based on the principles of quantum mechanics. This potential threat remains a theoretical possibility, but may become a real threat in coming years due to significant advances in quantum computing technology.
This project investigates the design, analysis and efficient implementation of alternative `quantum-resistant' public-key cryptosystems and protocols, focusing on their security against quantum computing attacks. A primary focus is on lattice-based cryptosystems exploiting the hardness of computational problems on Euclidean lattices (an infinite grid of points in a high-dimensional vector space). Topics of interest in this project include:
- Encryption schemes and their applications
- Authentication schemes and their applications
- Zero-knowledge proof protocols and their applications (e.g. to privacy preserving blockchain/cryptocurrency protocols)
- Security foundations of quantum-resistant cryptography
- Secure (side-channel resistant) and efficient implementation of quantum-resistant cryptography
- Secure computation protocols and their applications (e.g. to private outsourced cloud computation)
Required knowledge
- Preferable: knowledge/understanding in discrete mathematics
- Preferable: knowledge/understanding of cryptography
- Preferable: knowledge/understanding of quantum computation
