IACR News
Here you can see all recent updates to the IACR webpage. These updates are also available:
29 August 2023
Payal, Pooja, Girish Mishra
Yupu Hu, Siyue Dong, Baocang Wang, Xingting Dong
In this paper, we continue to state the invalidity of LV16/Lin17 IO schemes. The conclusion of this paper is that LV16/Lin17 CFE algorithms being inserted into BV15 IO frame are insecure. The reasoning of this paper is composed of the following three steps. First, when LV16/Lin17 CFE algorithms are inserted into secret constants. Second, when all secret random numbers are changed into the BV15 IO frame, all secret random numbers must be changed into secret constants, component functions in LV16/Lin17 CFE algorithms are cryptologic weak functions, and shapes of these component functions can be easily obtained by chosen values of independent variables. Finally, the shapes of these component functions include parameters of original function, therefore the IO scheme is insecure.
Ayan Sajwan, Girish Mishra
Carmen Wabartha, Julian Liedtke, Nicolas Huber, Daniel Rausch, Ralf Kuesters
A widespread class of elections, and at the same time, one of the most involved ones is parliamentary election with party-based seat-allocation. These elections are performed for millions of voters, dozens of parties, and hundreds of individual candidates competing for seats; they also use very sophisticated multi-step algorithms to compute the final assignment of seats to candidates based on, e.g., party lists, hundreds of electoral constituencies, possibly additional votes for individual candidates, overhang seats, and special exceptions for minorities. So far, it has not been investigated whether and in how far such elections can be performed in a verifiable tally-hiding manner.
In this work, we design and implement the first verifiable (fully) tally-hiding e-voting system for an election from this class, namely, for the German parliament (Bundestag). As part of this effort, we propose several new tally-hiding building blocks that are of independent interest. We perform benchmarks based on actual election data, which show, perhaps surprisingly, that our proposed system is practical even at a real-world scale. Our work thus serves as a foundational feasibility study for this class of elections.
Nicolas Gama, Anand Kumar Narayanan, Ryder LiuLin, Dongze Yue
In this work, we unify both worlds. We construct out of infinite series, the cumulative density function of a new continuous distribution that acts as surrogate for the cumulative distribution of the discrete Gaussian. If $\mu$ is a center and $x$ a sample of this distribution, then rounding $\mu+x$ yields a faithful Discrete Gaussian sample. This new sampling algorithm naturally splits into a pre-processing/offline phase and a very efficient online phase. The online phase is simple and has a trivial constant time implementation. Modulo the offline phase, our algorithm offers both the efficiency of rounding and the security guarantees associated with discrete Gaussian sampling.
Markus Krausz, Georg Land, Florian Stolz, Dennis Naujoks, Jan Richter-Brockmann, Tim Güneysu, Lucie Kogelheide
28 August 2023
Dublin, Ireland, 27 May - 31 May 2024
Submission deadline: 3 December 2023
Notification: 1 March 2024
Sangolqui, Ecuador, 2 October - 3 October 2023
Virtual event, Anywhere on Earth, 26 September - 28 September 2023
Submission deadline: 5 September 2023
Notification: 12 September 2023
Status.im
Closing date for applications:
Contact: catia@status.im
More information: https://grnh.se/e7e9db2e1us
Nokia Bell Labs; Antwerp, Belgium
The prospect of researching hard real-world problems and getting a taste of the vibrant Bell Labs community sets these internships apart.
At the Software and Data Systems Research Lab, among other subjects, our lab specializes in building low-latency distributed systems that handle substantial amounts of data. In such systems, typically, not all parties can be trusted since any component can be potentially malicious. Our research focuses on 3 crucial goals:
Internship Details:
As an intern in our lab, you'll have the opportunity to contribute to applied research in one of these areas, including:
Candidate Profile:
We will jointly define a topic based on your interests, resulting in at least one high-quality paper. You do not have to be an expert in all these subjects; having some relevant background is sufficient.
The internship funding can run until 31/12/2023. That means you should start as quickly as possible. So you should apply now!
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Emad Heydari Beni (emad.heydari_beni@nokia-bell-labs.com)
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
ISTA invites applications for several open positions in all areas of computer science including cryptography, systems security and privacy.
We offer:
· Thriving international and interdisciplinary research environment with English as the working language
· State-of-the-art facilities
· Attractive salary and generous start-up package
· Guaranteed annual base funding
· International graduate school
· PhD program with a unique blend of interdisciplinary coursework and research group rotations
· Professional development opportunities
· Employee Assistance Program
· Dual-career support
· Childcare facilities
· Commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive working environment
· Close proximity to Vienna
Assistant professors receive independent group leader positions with an initial contract of six years, at the end of which they are reviewed by international peers. A positive evaluation leads to promotion to the tenured professor position.
Tenured positions are open to distinguished scientists with several years of experience leading research groups.
We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Krzysztof Pietrzak (pietrzak@ist.ac.at)
More information: https://www.ista.ac.at/en/jobs/faculty/
The University of Manchester, Department of Computer Science
The ideal candidate should have a PhD degree in Computer Science or related area (or near completion) and a proven record of publications in cryptography and/or security venues such as Crypto, Eurocrypt, Asiacrypt, TCC, PKC, CCS, S&P, USENIX, ACNS, ESORICS, etc. Experience with protocol composition frameworks (such as the UC framework) is a plus, but not required.
The postdoc will be hosted by Bernardo Magri at the Systems and Software Security group at the CS department of the University of Manchester, UK.
The position is for 2 years and can be filled from September to December 2023, and will remain open until October 2nd 2023. For enquiries please contact Bernardo Magri at the email below. The formal application for the position should be completed at the following link: https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetail?JobId=26007
Closing date for applications:
Contact: bernardo.magri@manchester.ac.uk
More information: https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetail?JobId=26007
Institute for IT Security, University of Lübeck, Germany
We are looking for support in the following subject areas:
- Automated code analysis and security analysis of applications
- Analysis and hardening of IoT systems
- Research of software-based protection mechanisms for IoT
As the ideal candidate, you bring motivation and willingness to work and research creatively and independently.
- Your main areas of interest are in system security and/or applied cryptography.
- You have experience in the areas of cryptography, code analysis, hardware-oriented programming and/or machine learning.
- You are highly motivated to contribute to international research collaborations and to develop and publish first-class research results.
We offer excellent working conditions in an international team of top researchers and collaboration opportunities with prestigious working groups in IT security worldwide in one of the most livable cities in Northern Europe.
The position is a full-time position to be classified in pay group 13 of the TV-L, including several benefits such as retirement benefits. The employment is initially limited until December 14, 2025, with an option for extension. The review of applications starts immediately until the position is filled.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Thomas Eisenbarth (its.bewerbungen@uni-luebeck.de)
More information: https://www.its.uni-luebeck.de/en/jobs.html
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology; Vienna, Austria
AIT is Austrias largest non-universitary research institute. Its Cyber Security team focuses on various aspects of security, including anomaly detection, cyber ranges, penetration testing, and cryptography. The cryptography group is conducting research in various directions, including secure communication, privacy-enhancing technologies, and long-term and post-quantum security. Given a growing portfolio of research projects, the group seeks to grow and thus has a vacancy for a post-doctoral researcher in related areas.
Requirements:- PhD degree in Computer Science, Cyber Security, or a related field, with a specialization on cryptology
- Profound knowledge in one or more of the following areas: secure multi-party computation (MPC), fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), threshold cryptography, distributed algorithms, privacy-preserving machine learning, verifiable computation
- Strong track record with publications at competitive academic conferences or journals (e.g., Crypto, Eurocrypt, Asiacrypt, TCC, PKC, CCS, S&P, USENIX, ESORICS, ...)
- Good knowledge of a programming language (e.g., C/C++, Rust, Java, Python) and software development is a plus
- Very good written and oral English skills; knowledge of German is not a requirement but willingness to learn German is expected
The position lasts for two years. The salary starts from ~59k€/year, depending on experience. The review process will begin immediately and will continue open until the position has been filled.
Informal inquiries can be done by email, but formal applications must be submitted through: https://jobs.ait.ac.at/Job/215934
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Stephan Krenn; stephan.krenn[at]ait.ac.at
More information: https://jobs.ait.ac.at/Job/215934
Institute for IT Security, University of Lübeck, Germany
We are looking for support in the following subject areas:
- Security analysis and design of trusted execution environments and secure microarchitectures
- Automated code analysis and software-based protection measures, including the use of large language models
- Applied (post-quantum) cryptography and side-channel analysis
As the ideal candidate, you bring motivation and willingness to work and research creatively and independently.
- Your main areas of interest are in system security and/or applied cryptography.
- You have experience in the areas of cryptography, code analysis, hardware-oriented programming and/or machine learning.
- You have already published highly at relevant conferences in system security and cryptography (S&P, CCS, USENIX Security, CHES, CRYPTO, Eurocrypt, etc.) and built your own scientific network.
Necessary prerequisite is a completed PhD in the field of IT security. Your application should contain a CV, list of publications, a short research statement and at least one contact for a reference letter. What else do we offer?
We offer excellent working conditions in an international team of top researchers and collaboration opportunities with prestigious working groups in IT security worldwide in one of the most livable cities in Northern Europe.
The review of applications starts immediately until the position is filled. The employment is initially limited until June 30, 2025, with an option for extension.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Thomas Eisenbarth (its.bewerbungen@uni-luebeck.de)
More information: https://www.its.uni-luebeck.de/en/jobs.html
University College Cork, Ireland
The PhD student will work under the supervision of Principal Investigator Dr. Paolo Palmieri, University College Cork (UCC), and co-Investigator Dr. Hazel Murray, Munster Technological University (MTU). The student will join the thriving Cryptography Group at UCC, where several other PhD students and Post-Docs are carrying out related research. The project is a collaboration between UCC (host organization) and MTU, and part of CONNECT - Centre for Future Networks & Communications, a major Science Foundation Ireland research initiative.
Candidates should have a background/strong interest in security and privacy, as well as a good grasp of mathematics. Previous experience in cryptography is an asset, but is not required. Applicants should hold a good honours undergraduate or Master's degree in computer science, computer engineering, mathematics, or other relevant subject.
The successful applicant will receive a stipend of €19,000 per annum for four years (subject to successful annual progress reviews). Tuition fees will be covered by the project, and a travel budget is available to present at international conferences. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to work with the Principal Investigator and co-Investigator extensive network of international research collaborations.
We expect the PhD student to start in Autumn 2023 or shortly thereafter.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: General informal enquires about the PhD positions can be made to Dr. Paolo Palmieri at e-mail: p.palmieri@cs.ucc.ie
Applications must be made online by September 7, 2023 at the address: https://ucc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_brw0JC79mZz2lmu
More information: https://security.ucc.ie/vacancies.html
Xiaoyang Dong, Shun Li, Phuong Pham, Guoyan Zhang
In this paper, we answer this open question by building a quantum herding attack, where the time complexity is slightly increased from Benedikt et al.'s $2^{0.43n}$ to ours $2^{0.46n}$, but the size of qRAM is reduced from Benedikt et al.'s $2^{0.43n}$ to ours $\mathcal{O}(n)$. Besides, we also introduce various low-qRAM quantum attacks on hash concatenation combiner, hash XOR combiner, Hash-Twice, and Zipper hash functions.