IACR News
Here you can see all recent updates to the IACR webpage. These updates are also available:
16 February 2021
Selmer Center, University of Bergen, Norway
Job PostingThe Selmer Center in Secure Communication is looking for a PhD student to join us in our new research project Cryptographic Boolean Functions for Threshold Implementations, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. This study will be supervised by Prof. Budaghyan, Prof. Carlet and Prof. Rijmen.
Applicants interested in helping us over the next 3 years to study Boolean functions used as building blocks in cryptographic primitives and their Threshold Implementations in order to find efficient ways of preventing Side Channel Attacks, must have:
- obtained a master's degree in Mathematics or Computer Science by 01.11.2021 (the position's starting date),
- strong background in Discrete Mathematics or symmetric cryptography, and
- good programming skills
For further information and the online application form please follow the link in the title above.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Prof. Lilya Budaghyan
More information: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/200521/phd-position-in-informatics-cryptography
Nagasaki, Japan, 30 May - 3 June 2022
Event Calendar12 February 2021
Bern, Switzerland, 19 May - 7 July 2021
Event CalendarSubmission deadline: 15 March 2021
Notification: 15 April 2021
Generating cryptographically-strong random lattice bases and recognizing rotations of $\mathbb{Z}^n$
Tamar Lichter Blanks, Stephen D. Miller
ePrint ReportBoris Fouotsa Tako, Péter Kutas, Simon-Philipp Merz
ePrint ReportLei Bi, Xianhui Lu, Junjie Luo, Kunpeng Wang, Zhenfei Zhang
ePrint ReportMark Simkin, Luisa Siniscalchi, and Sophia Yakoubov
ePrint ReportIn this work, we show that for $t \leq n - 2$ corruptions, oracles that return output to $n - 1$ parties are sufficient to obtain perfectly secure computation with identifiable abort. Using our construction recursively, we see that for $t \leq n - \ell - 2$ and $\ell \in \mathcal{O}(1)$, oracles that return output to $n - \ell - 1$ parties are sufficient.
For our construction, we introduce a new kind of secret sharing scheme which we call unanimously identifiable secret sharing with public and private shares (UISSwPPS). In a UISSwPPS scheme, each share holder is given a public and a private shares. Only the public shares are necessary for reconstruction, and the knowledge of a private share additionally enables the identification of at least one party who provided an incorrect share in case reconstruction fails. The important new property of UISSwPPS is that, even given all the public shares, an adversary should not be able to come up with a different public share that causes reconstruction of an incorrect message, or that avoids the identification of a cheater if reconstruction fails.
Andreas Erwig, Sebastian Faust, Kristina Hostáková, Monosij Maitra, Siavash Riahi
ePrint ReportIn this work, we address these two shortcomings. First, we show that signature schemes that are constructed from identification (ID) schemes, which additionally satisfy certain homomorphic properties, can generically be transformed into adaptor signature schemes. We further provide an impossibility result which proves that unique signature schemes (e.g., the BLS scheme) cannot be transformed into an adaptor signature scheme. In addition, we define two-party adaptor signature schemes with aggregatable public keys and show how to instantiate them via a generic transformation from ID-based signature schemes. Finally, we give instantiations of our generic transformations for the Schnorr, Katz-Wang and Guillou-Quisquater signature schemes.
Paul Frixons, André Schrottenloher
ePrint ReportLiliya Akhmetzyanova, Evgeny Alekseev, Alexandra Babueva, Stanislav Smyshlyaev
ePrint ReportIn the current paper we investigate the opportunity of shortening the standard ElGamal-type signatures. We propose three methods of shortening signatures (for any ElGamal-type schemes such as ECDSA, GOST and SM2) and analyze how applying these methods affects the security. Applying all three methods to the GOST signature scheme with elliptic curve subgroup order $q$, $2^{255} < q < 2^{256}$, can reduce the signature size from $512$ to $320$ bits. The modified scheme provides sufficient security and acceptable (for non-interactive protocols) signing and verifying time.
Greg Morrisett, Elaine Shi, Kristina Sojakova, Xiong Fan, Joshua Gancher
ePrint ReportBenjamin E. Diamond
ePrint ReportWe moreover study the concrete construction of compact coverings, and provide new geometric algorithms. Our logic synthesizer constructs affine coverings of cube subsets using a recursive backtracking procedure, and minimizes the total number of flats used; it may be of independent interest. This represents a new paradigm in boolean logic minimization. We relate this paradigm to classical logic synthesis.
Applying our paradigm, we present a general protocol for commitment-consistent secure two-party computation with an untrusted third party, generalizing a construction of Wagh, Gupta, and Chandran (PETS '19). Our generalization supports the secure evaluation of arbitrary boolean functionalities; we also add commitment-consistency and malicious security under one corruption. We report on a highly efficient implementation of a specialization of this general protocol to a certain natural boolean function.
Christoph Egger, Mike Graf, Ralf Kuesters, Daniel Rausch, Viktoria Ronge, and Dominique Schröder
ePrint ReportIn this paper, we close this gap by proposing the first framework for defining and analyzing the security of general distributed ledgers, with an ideal distributed ledger functionality, called $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$, at the core of our contribution. This functionality covers not only classical blockchains but also non-blockchain distributed ledgers in a unified way.
To illustrate $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$, we first show that the prominent ideal blockchain functionalities $\mathcal{G}_\text{ledger}$ and $\mathcal{G}_\text{PL}$ realize (suitable instantiations of) $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$, which precisely captures their security properties. This immediately implies that their respective implementations, including Bitcoin, Ouroboros Genesis, and Ouroboros Crypsinous, realize $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$ as well. Secondly, we demonstrate that $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$ is capable of precisely modeling also non-blockchain distributed ledgers by performing the first formal security analysis of such a distributed ledger, namely the prominent Corda protocol. Due to the wide spread use of Corda in the industry, in particular the financial sector, this analysis is of independent interest.
These results also illustrate that $\mathcal{F}_\text{ledger}$ not just generalizes the modular treatment of blockchains to distributed ledgers, but moreover helps to unify existing results.
Morteza Adeli, Nasour Bagheri, Sadegh Sadeghi and Saru Kumari
ePrint Report11 February 2021
CWI Cryptology Group, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Job PostingThe successful candidate will be working with Lisa Kohl, within the NWO Gravitation project QSC.
Candidates are required to have a master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or a related discipline, ideally with a specialization in Cryptology.
All applications should include a detailed resume, motivation letter, list of MSc courses and grades, copy of master’s thesis and list of publications (if applicable). Please send your application in a single PDF file (with master's thesis as separate attachement).
The application deadline is March 31st, 2021. Review of applications will start immediately until the position is filled.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Lisa Kohl (l.m.kohl (at) cwi.nl)
Horizen Labs, Milan (Italy)
Job PostingHorizen Labs is a blockchain technology company that designs, develops and delivers powerful, scalable and reliable distributed ledger solutions for business. Our Core Engineering Team is based in Milan, Italy. It’s an innovative and collaborative group of technical developers who are dedicated to the design and development of world-class blockchain-based products.
We are now looking for a junior cryptographer, or applied cryptographer, to join our Cryptography Team and develop cutting-edge SNARK-based proof-composition models and software.
The Role- Help the team, to develop practical applications using both advanced SNARK-based protocols and conventional cryptographic tools
- Keep up to date on emerging capabilities in the fast-growing Zero-Knowledge area and identify where and how new capabilities can be applied
- Identify and recommend technologies and cryptographic solutions to solve technical challenges
- Participate in standards setting, perform collaborative research into open source solutions and assist technical colleagues in their development work
- MS/Ph.D. in Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Programming, or Computer Engineering
- Core understanding of classical crypto primitives (symmetric and public key cryptography)
- Base principles of Elliptic Curve Cryptography, Zero-knowlegde proofs and SNARGs
- Foundations of blockchain technology, and experience developing in Rust and/or C++, is a plus.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Maurizio Binello
More information: https://horizenlabs.io/
The University of Edinburgh
Job Posting1) Improving efficiency and cryptographic assumptions of multi-party computation protocols.
2) Studying new communication models for real-world applications, to obtain protocols with improved performance and security features.
3) Proposing new security definitions and realistic trusted assumptions to overcome current impossibility results.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Michele Ciampi (michele.ciampi [at] ed.ac.uk)
More information: https://www.ed.ac.uk/informatics/postgraduate/fees/research-scholarships/research-grant-funding/phd-secure-multi-party-computation
IT University of Copenhagen
Job PostingClosing date for applications:
Contact: Rosario Giustolisi (rosg@itu.dk) or Carsten Schuermann (carsten@itu.dk)
More information: https://candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationInit.aspx?cid=119&ProjectId=181269&DepartmentId=3439&MediaId=1282
Télécom Paris , Secure and Safe Hardware team, Palaiseau, France
Job Posting- Architectures and design methods of digital circuits/embedded systems for both hardware and low-level software.
- Theory and practice in the security/safety of electronic circuits and on-board systems.
The position requires significant publications in leading journals and conferences. Initiating and participating to national, international and industrial research projects is expected. Higher education experience as well as fluency in written and oral English are required.
Other types of competencies that could serve for the position are listed below:
- Experience in developing embedded systems with hardware and / or software protections.
- Culture of cyber-physical threats and protection principles.
- In-depth knowledge of microprocessor architectures and associated software development tools.
- Methods and architectures of integrated circuits and embedded systems.
- Experimental data generation and analysis.
- Knowledge in modeling, signal processing and machine learning methods.
https://institutminestelecom.recruitee.com/l/en/o/maitre-de-conferences-en-securite-et-surete-des-systemes-embarques-a-telecom-paris-cdi
Closing date for applications:
Contact: jean-luc.danger@telecom-paris.fr
More information: https://institutminestelecom.recruitee.com/l/en/o/maitre-de-conferences-en-securite-et-surete-des-systemes-embarques-a-telecom-paris-cdi
Ph.D. Scholarship (Post-Quantum Cryptographic Hardware & AI Security )
Job PostingRequirements: preferred to be at the majors of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and related others. Familiar with fault attack and analysis will be desirable. Proficiency in programming languages such as C/C++ and HDLs (FPGA development skills and experience are big plus). Good at English communication and writing. Great enthusiasm of doing research oriented tasks. Excellent team work member. Degree: both B.S. and M.S. graduates or similar are warmly welcomed to apply. Start date: Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 are both ok. It is always better to apply as early as possible. Positions are open until they are filled. The 2021 U.S. News & World Report ranks Villanova as tied for the 53th best National University in the U.S (Famous Alumni includes the First Lady of the United States, etc.). Brief introduction of Dr. Xie: Dr. Jiafeng Harvest Xie is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Villanova University. His research interests include cryptographic engineering, hardware security, and VLSI digital design. He is the Best Paper Awardee of IEEE HOST 2019. He has served the Associate Editor for Microelectronics Journal, IEEE Access, and IEEE Trans. Circuits and Systems II. He has also been awarded the 2019 IEEE Access Outstanding Associate Editor. Contact: Jiafeng Harvest Xie (jiafeng.xie@villanova.edu) Contact: Jiafeng Harvest Xie
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Dr. Jiafeng Xie (jiafeng.xie@villanova.edu)
More information: https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/engineering/departments/ece/facultyStaff/biodetail.html?mail=jiafeng.xie@villanova.edu&xsl=bio_long