International Association
for Cryptologic Research

The University of Luxembourg invites applications from M.Sc. holders in the general area of applied cryptography. Cryptolux.org is a team of cryptographers and security researchers interested in applied cryptography, cryptanalysis, privacy, network security, cryptographic blockchains and is led by Prof. Alex Biryukov. We are affiliated to the Department of Computer Science (DCS) and to the interdisciplinary Security and Trust center (SnT).

Area (potential topics of the thesis)

• Cryptanalysis and design of cryptographic primitives, ex. Lightweight block ciphers, hash functions, authenticated encryption schemes
• Privacy Enhancing Technology (Tor-like networks, privacy for cryptocurrencies)
• Cryptography for blockchains
• White-box cryptography

The University offers a Ph.D. study program with an initial contract of 36 months, with a further possible 1-year extension if required. The University offers highly competitive salaries and is an equal opportunity employer. You will work in one of the most international universities in the world and will participate in the development of a large information security research center.

Starting date 1-Jan-2022 or later upon agreement. Early submission is encouraged; applications will be processed upon receipt.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Prof. Alex Biryukov

More information: https://cryptolux.org

We have multiple open positions for PhD students in the area of symmetric and post-quantum cryptography in the Digital Security group at Radboud University in Nijmegen. The positions cover different topics, ranging from the provable security of modes of use, design of primitives supported by cryptanalysis, post-quantum algorithms and implementations, and protection against implementation attacks based on power, electromagnetic side channel analysis, and fault attacks. For the symmetric crypto topic, we focus on cryptography based on permutations as in the sponge, duplex and farfalle constructions, especially suited for low energy consumption. For the post-quantum cryptography position, a suggestion is to work on isogeny-based crypto but this can be discussed based on a candidate’s background.

The Digital Security Group of Radboud University is one of the leading groups in computer security in The Netherlands and Europe, and one of the pioneers in permutation-based crypto and corresponding leakage-resilient modes.

The successful candidate should ideally have a master in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Electrical engineering. Applications will be considered until the positions are filled.

To apply, please send the following documents to dis-secr (at) cs.ru.nl, with the subject "PhD position in cryptography":
- a motivation letter
- your cv
- your master diploma certificate (scanned)
- transcript of the courses you took (including grades)
- up to 3 references

To enquire about the positions you can contact: Joan Daemen, joan (at) cs.ru.nl, Lejla Batina, lejla (at) cs.ru.nl, and Bart Mennink, b.mennink (at) cs.ru.nl

Closing date for applications:

Contact: dis-secr (at) cs.ru.nl

Applications are invited for a post-doctoral fellow position in one or more of these areas- cryptographic engineering/applied cryptography as it relates to blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and digital payments. The successful candidate will join Professor Anwar Hasan’s research group at the University of Waterloo. Applicants with a recent Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a related discipline, and publications at premium venues are encouraged to send pdf copies of their CVs and cover letters via email to Professor Anwar Hasan (ahasan at uwaterloo.ca). Application deadline: November 8, 2021 for full consideration. After this deadline, applications will be processed as they arrive.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Anwar Hasan

I (Ni Trieu) am looking for 2 Ph.D. students to join my group. An ideal candidate should be interested in security, privacy, applied cryptography. No prior experience in cryptography or security is required. Experience in other areas, including theory, math, database, machine learning, bioinformatics is a plus. If you are interested, please send your CV, transcripts, and everything that you believe will help your application in PDF format to [email protected]. Thank you.
Please see more information at https://nitrieu.github.io/position/.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Ni Trieu

More information: https://nitrieu.github.io/position/

Place of work: Warsaw, Poland. The newly established IDEAS NCBR center is looking for a position of Research Team Leader dealing with formal modeling and proving the security of cryptographic protocols used in blockchain technology. The research will be carried out in cooperation with the cryptography and blockchain laboratory headed by prof. Stefan Dziembowski at the University of Warsaw. Requirements: • very good knowledge of at least one of the following theorem proving systems: Coq, Easycrypt, Why3, and Isabelle/HOL, • PhD in computer science/mathematics or comparable professional experience, • significant experience in communicating scientific results in English both orally and in writing, • ability to understand scientific papers in English, • experience in working in an international scientific environment. Desirable qualifications: • scientific achievements in the field of automated theorem proving documented by publications, • knowledge of scientific aspects of cryptography and blockchain technology. We offer: • work on very interesting scientific projects with the possibility of implementing the obtained results in practice, • frequent interaction with Prof. S. Dziembowski's scientific team implementing ERC (European Research Council) and NSC (National Science Centre) projects, • opportunity to co-create a scientific team, • form of employment: work contract, • remuneration: PLN 15 000 gross, • the Innovation Bonus - a share in the benefits of future commercialization of the results of a Research Project, constituting an additional remuneration in relation to the basic remuneration. The Innovation Bonus, depending on the adopted model of commercialization of the results of the Research Project, may take the form of: - the right to participate in our income from their commercialization (in particular in the form of a license or disposal of intellectual property rights), or - the right of acquisition of shares or stocks in a spin-out company commercializing such solutions. • medical care • multisport card • group insurance • lunch cards • benefits from the Company Social Benefit Fund • work tools: mobile phone, laptop

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Prof. Stefan Dziembowski

The Department of Mathematical Sciences at NTNU is looking for a post-doc in public-key cryptography. The position is hosted by Jiaxin Pan. It is funded by a project from the Research Council of Norway with focus on provable security. Potential topics are, but not limited to, digital signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, and post-quantum cryptography.

The candidate will work on theoretical aspects of public-key cryptography and is expected to publish at IACR conferences (such as Crypto, Eurocrypt, Asiacrypt, etc.) and renowned security conferences (such as IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, etc.). Thus, a track record of publications at these conferences is expected for the successful candidate.

Further details: The position holder will participate in many activities of the Cryptology Lab (NaCl) at NTNU which has 9 faculty members working on both applied and theoretical aspects of cryptology. The working place is in Trondheim, Norway. Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. It offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

Application: More details are given here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/213223/postdoctoral-fellow-in-cryptography. We can only accept applications from this jobbnorge.no page.

Application deadline: 7th November 2021.

Starting date: May 2022, but it can be flexible. We encourage candidates who finish their PhD within (or before) 2022 to apply.

Duration: The position is for 3 years. The department might offer you 1 year in addition with teaching duties.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Jiaxin Pan ([email protected])

More information: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/213223/postdoctoral-fellow-in-cryptography

IRIF (Institut de Recherche en Informatique Fondamentale, https://www.irif.fr/) will be offering one to two years of postdoc in cryptography, starting October 2022. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, secure computation, zero-knowledge proofs, post-quantum cryptography, code-based cryptography, and foundational aspects of cryptography (including black-box separations and connections to learning theory). Anyone interested should apply via algocomp-apply (at) irif (dot) fr (see https://www.irif.fr/postes/postdoc for how to apply). The deadline is November 1st, 2021. Further details: IRIF (research institute in theoretical computer science) is a laboratory of the University of Paris. It's the largest TCS lab in France, with more than 90 permanent members and dozens of PhDs & postdocs. It is located in the south of Paris, and is well connected to everything via public transportation.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Geoffroy Couteau

More information: https://www.irif.fr/postes/postdoc

Research Internships at Microsoft provide a dynamic environment for research careers with a network of world-class research labs led by globally-recognized scientists and engineers. Our researchers and engineers pursue innovation in a range of scientific and technical disciplines to help solve complex challenges in diverse fields, including computing, healthcare, economics, and the environment.

Digital identities are foundational to the modern web and to the many services enabled by various cloud providers. The Cryptography and Privacy Research Group at Microsoft Research, Redmond, is creating new privacy and transparency technologies for the digital identity ecosystem, with the goal of giving users more control over their identity and visibility into its usage. We are looking for a research intern for the spring of 2022 to work with us on privacy-preserving and auditable data structures and applications to future digital identity ecosystems.

More information and application at https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/job/1177611/Research-Intern-Privacy-and-Cryptography

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Kim Laine ([email protected]) or Esha Ghosh ([email protected])

We are looking for a Research Associate (PostDoc) in Secure & Privacy-preserving AI Models to join our ambitious EnnCore (https://enncore.github.io/) project.

You will enjoy designing, developing and evaluating novel AI models (deep neural networks) that are privacy-preserving and robust against attacks. The project will involve the continuous interaction with experts in explainable AI and formal software verification. You will also have the opportunity to build use cases and to collaborate with domain experts in areas such as cancer research and energy trading. You will design, develop and evaluate new models in the context of their accuracy, privacy-protection and robustness. This position may include research on a diverse set of techniques such as federated learning, homomorphic encryption, multiparty computation and adversarial methods. The post is initially for one year, with the possibility for extensions.

You should have a PhD or equivalent in Computer Science or a closely related field together with a track record of international publications in applied machine learning or secure computation. Examples of fields of interests are:

(1) Federated Learning
(2) Homomorphic Encryption
(3) Secure Multiparty Computation
(4) Differential Privacy
(5) Safety Mechanisms in AI Systems
(6) Adversarial Methods

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Dr Mustafa A. Mustafa
[email protected]

More information: https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/displayjob.aspx?jobid=21038

Heliax is looking for a cryptographer & researcher interested in zero-knowledge cryptographic protocols and their application to distributed ledger technology to work with us to design, evaluate, and implement zero-knowledge proof constructions such as zkSNARKs and zkSTARKs, distributed cryptographic protocols such as threshold encryption and distributed key generation, and cryptographic primitives such as elliptic curves and hash functions, then put this cryptography into practice in order to realise privacy and scalability capabilities required by the next generation of blockchain networks. This role offers the chance to work closely with a small team on compelling cross-disciplinary problems in theoretical computer science, cryptography, game theory, economics, and systems design, and enjoy a high degree of independence in working conditions and task prioritization.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: [email protected]

More information: https://heliax.dev/jobs/zero-knowledge-cryptographer-protocol-developer/

Shantanu Sharma, Assistant Professor @ Computer Science at NJIT, has multiple fully funded Ph.D. positions in the area of databases, secure data processing, IoT, cloud/edge computing, blockchain, and secure model learning. Webpage: https://web.njit.edu/~ss797/

Details: NJIT is a Rank 1 Research University, situated in New York Metropolitan area, and is about 7 miles away from the beautiful New York City. New York Metropolitan area is a key part of the US and is the hub of several major tech and research companies. The qualified candidates will have opportunities for research internships and joint projects with lead-industrial companies.
The position is looking for highly motivated graduate as well as undergraduate students to explore, design, and implement algorithms for databases, secure computing, IoT, blockchain, and machine learning. Topics are as follows:
1. GDPR compliance trustworthy database systems
a. The implication of privacy laws in database systems
b. Design of new modules for GDPR compliance secure databases
2. Trustworthy data-driven systems
a. Application of blockchains in data-driven systems
b. Applications of security techniques in data-driven system pipeline
3. Scalable and trustworthy database processing
a. Use of encryption and secret-sharing techniques
b. Use of secure hardware
Outcome: The work will expose the student to novel data management algorithms, programming with secure hardware (Intel SGX), cluster computing frameworks such as MapReduce and Spark, and the basics of secure computing using cryptographic techniques.

Requirements:
1. You will need to be highly enthusiastic, learner, and also be interested in coding/prototyping algorithms and systems
2. Adequate knowledge of algorithms, programming, and relational database systems
3. Knowledge of Java, SQL, and C/C++
4. You must be an Undergraduate/Master student in computer science or a related field

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Shantanu Sharma shantanu[DOT]sharma[AT]njit[DOT]edu Please send your CV and other information (e.g., GitHub account, sample projects, etc.) to: Shantanu Sharma

More information: https://web.njit.edu/~ss797/

The Institute of Information Security at University of Stuttgart offers a

fully-funded Postdoc position in formal verification.

The successful candidate is expected to work on tool-supported formal verification of security-critical systems and security protocols.

The position is available immediately with an internationally competitive salary (German public salary scale TV-L E13 or TV-L E14, depending on the candidate's qualification, ranging from about 4.600 Euro to 6.200 Euro monthly gross salary). The appointment period follows the German Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVg), ranging from one year to up to six years.

The Institute of Information Security offers a creative international environment for top-level international research in Germany's high-tech region.

The successful candidate should have a Ph.D. (or should be very close to completion thereof) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Information Security, or a related field. We value strong analytical skills and

• solid knowledge of logic, proofs and/or formal verification techniques (Theorem Proving, Type Checking, etc.),
• solid programming experience.

Knowledge in security is not required, but a plus. Knowledge of German is not required.

See https://www.sec.uni-stuttgart.de/institute/job-openings/ for details of how to apply.

The deadline for applications is

October 31st, 2021.

Late applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Prof. Dr. Ralf Küsters
University of Stuttgart
Institute of Information Security
[email protected]

More information: https://www.sec.uni-stuttgart.de/institute/job-openings/

Simula UiB (http://simula-uib.com) in Bergen, Norway, has a 4-year PhD position available in the field of cryptography. PhD students at Simula UiB enjoy an inclusive working environment with competitive salaries.

Job description

The PhD student we are looking for is eager to dive deeper into selected research topics in cryptography. The supervisor for this position is Chief Research Scientist Håvard Raddum, and the possible research areas of interest are: cryptanalysis of crypto primitives, fully homomorphic encryption with applications, or lattice-based cryptography. This list is not exhaustive, other topics will also be considered. The job consists of doing research on a daily basis, moving the research front on one or a few selected areas. Writing research papers and presenting them is an important part of the position. All research will be done with the aim of the student obtaining a PhD degree. The candidate will receive the PhD degree from the University of Bergen. 25% of the 4-year period is compulsory work related to the PhD student’s research area. Examples of compulsory work are teaching courses, outreach, applied research experiments, etc.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Håvard Raddum - email: [email protected]. For administrative enquiries, contact [email protected].

More information: https://www.simula.no/about/job/call-phd-student-cryptography

We at Arcana(arcana.network) are looking for someone well versed with applied math and cryptography to help design our protocol and allied systems. Specifically, we are looking for knowledge in a significant subset of the following: (1) Verifiable Delay Function(VDF) implementation. (2)Distributed key generation(DKG) and management(DKMS). (3)Encryption schemes. (4)Game theoretical (dis)incentivisation on a decentralized network. (5)Distributed Random Number generation. (6)End to End Encryption schemes . (7)Zero Knowledge proofs. (8)Verifiable computation. Academics and part time consultants also welcome to apply.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: [email protected]

More information: https://arcana.network

The Institute of Information Security and Dependability at KIT is looking for a Post-Doc with expertise in privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols with a focus on secure multi-party computation , ideally, having hands-on experiences with MPC-compilers. A track record in this field is expected, including publications at reputable conferences such as Crypto, Eurocrypt, ACM CCS, PETS, etc.

You will be a member of the KASTEL Security Research Labs (https://zentrum.kastel.kit.edu) and the Topic "Engineering Secure Systems" of the Helmholtz Association. Your research is dealing with cryptographic protocols for privacy-preserving computations, e.g., applied to mobility systems. It will result in both theoretical security concepts (protocol designs, security proofs, etc.) and their practical implementation (e.g., a demonstrator) for some application domain. The contract will initially be limited to 1 year, but can be extended.

If you are interested, please formally apply using the link given below. Besides your CV including a list of your publications, please also include the names of three references.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Andy Rupp ([email protected])

More information: https://www.pse.kit.edu/karriere/joboffer.php?id=96409&language=en

We are the Blockchain Infrastructure Team, and we are building the foundation used by other projects at the Status Network. We are researching consensus algorithms, Multi-Party Computation techniques, ZKPs and other cutting-edge solutions with the aim to take the blockchain technology to the next level of security, decentralization and scalability for a wide range of use cases. We are currently in a research phase, working with models and simulations. In the near future, we will start implementing the research. You will have the opportunity to participate in developing -and improving- the state of the art of blockchain technologies, as well as turning it into a reality

Key Responsibilities:

This role is dedicated to pure research

Primarily, ensuring that solutions are sound and diving deeper into their formal definition.

Additionally, he/she would be regularly going through papers, bringing new ideas and staying up-to-date.

Designing, specifying and verifying distributed systems by leveraging formal and experimental techniques.

Conducting theoretical and practical analysis of the performance of distributed systems.

Designing and analysing incentive systems.

Researching new techniques for designing, analysing and implementing dependable distributed systems.

Publishing and presenting research results both internally and externally.

Key Responsibilities:

Strong background in Computer Science and Math, or a related area.

Academic background (The ability to analyze, digest and improve the State of the Art in our fields of interest. Specifically, familiarity with formal proofs and/or the scientific method.)

Distributed Systems with a focus on Blockchain

Analysis of algorithms Familiarity with Python and/or complex systems modeling software

Deep knowledge of algorithms (much more academic, such as have dealt with papers, moving from research to pragmatic implementation)

Experience in analysing the correctness and security of distributed systems.

Familiarity with the application of formal method techniques.

Comfortable with “reverse engineering” code

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Angel via discord @ LilChiChi#0021 Or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelrgutierrez/

More information: https://jobs.status.im/jobs/23946

The Institute of Cybersecurity and Cryptology (iC2) at the University of Wollongong is looking for outstanding PhD students who are interested in digital finance, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. We offer scholarships, including living expenses for up to $50,000/annum AUD (tax free) plus a tuition waiver. There are 12 positions in total. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Willy Susilo at ([email protected]). Or else, please send your cover letter and CV to Dr. Yannan Li ([email protected]) asap to secure your spot. Applications will be assessed immediately. Join us in this exciting journey! #UOW

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Prof. Willy Susilo and Dr. Yannan Li

Cape Privacy is looking for a Machine Learning Privacy Researcher/Engineer to help build Cape Privacy's innovative SaaS-based encrypted learning platform. This product sits at the intersection of data science, machine learning, privacy, and cryptography; allowing organizations to enhance ML models through privacy-preserving collaboration. Responsibilities include working with our Product team and other researchers & engineers to bring the product vision to reality. Ideal candidates will have an MS or higher in machine learning, data science, privacy or cryptography; and academic or commercial experience in privacy-preserving technologies.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: David Besemer, VP Engineering

More information: https://capeinc.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=32

The Research group on Cryptology and Information Security (GiCSI) of the Spanish National Research Council is seeking highly motivated professionals in conducting research in the area of cryptographic privacy-enhancing technologies, blockchain-based protocols and security protocols. The selected candidate will part of GiCSI’s team in the context of the H2020 SPIRS (Secure Platform for Ict systems Rooted at the Silicon manufacturing process) project. This project encompasses the complete design of a platform, so-called SPIRS platform, which integrates a hardware dedicated Root of Trust (RoT) and a processor core with the capability of offering a full suite of security services. Furthermore, the SPIRS platform will be able to leverage this capability to support privacy-respectful attestation mechanisms and enable trusted communication channels across 5G infrastructures. RoT is implemented in hardware with a dedicated circuitry to extract a unique digital identifier for the SPIRS platform during its entire lifetime. To build a complete solution, the project also features a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), secure boot, and runtime integrity. Furthermore, resilience and privacy protection are major concerns in this project, and it endeavors to the design of a decentralized trust management framework targeted to minimize the impact of Single Point of Failure (SPOF) risks and achieve adequate security and privacy tradeoffs. To facilitate the tasks of validation and testing, SPIRS platform is conceived as an open platform that can easily integrate other building blocks and facilities upgrades. The project goes beyond the construction of the SPIRS platform and it provides solutions to integrate it in the deployment of cryptographic protocols and network infrastructures in a trustworthy way, leveraging the RoT provided by the platform. To validate SPIRS results, the project considers two different scenarios: Industry 4.0 and 5G Technologies.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: David Arroyo Guardeño, Ph. D. Research group on Cryptology and Information Security (GiCSI) Institute of Physical and Information Technologies (ITEFI) Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) https://dargcsic.github.io/

More information: https://dargcsic.github.io/posts/2021-09-21-spirs

The chair for Security Engineering at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, is seeking for PhD students and Post-Docs in the areas of cryptographic hardware/software, side-channel analysis, FPGA security, etc.

For PhD positions, candidates must hold an MSc (or equivalent) in computer engineering, electrical engineering or computer science. The candidates are required to have outstanding grades.

For Post-Doc positions, candidates must hold a PhD in computer engineering, electrical engineering or computer science. Furthermore, they must have a demonstrated record of top-quality research in foundations of cryptographic hardware and embedded systems. This is usually proved by publications in IACR conferences, particularly CHES.

Please send your application per email (as a single PDF) to Amir Moradi (amir.moradi at rub.de). The application should include a full CV, a cover letter motivating you application, a short description of your two best research articles (for Post-Doc positions). Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled, the starting date is flexible.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Amir Moradi

More information: https://www.seceng.rub.de/moradi