IACR News
Here you can see all recent updates to the IACR webpage. These updates are also available:
13 November 2023
Ryad Benadjila, Thibauld Feneuil, Matthieu Rivain
Yimeng Sun, Jiamin Cui, Meiqin Wang
In this paper, we improve the attacks on LowMC under low data complexity, i.e. 1 or 2 chosen plaintext/ciphertext pairs. For the difference enumeration attack with 2 chosen plaintexts, we propose new algebraic methods to better exploit the nonlinear relation inside the introduced variables based on the attack framework proposed by Liu et al. at ASIACRYPT 2022. With this technique, we significantly extend the number of attack rounds for LowMC with partial nonlinear layers and improve the success probability from around 0.5 to over 0.9. The security margin of some instances can be reduced to only 3/4 rounds. For the key-recovery attack using a single plaintext, we adopt a different linearization strategy to reduce the huge memory consumption caused by the polynomial methods for solving multivariate equation systems. The memory complexity reduces drastically for all 5-/6-round LowMC instances with full nonlinear layers at the sacrifice of a small factor of time complexity. For 5-round LowMC instances with a block size of 129, the memory complexity decreases from $2^{86.46}$ bits to $2^{48.18}$ bits while the time complexity even slightly reduces. Our results indicate that the security for different instances of LowMC under extremely low data complexity still needs further exploration.
Elli Androulaki, Marcus Brandenburger, Angelo De Caro, Kaoutar Elkhiyaoui, Liran Funaro, Alexandros Filios, Yacov Manevich, Senthilnathan Natarajan, Manish Sethi
This paper introduces a novel framework for Central Bank Digital Currency settlement that outputs a system of record---acting a a trusted source of truth serving interoperation, and dispute resolution/fraud detection needs---, and brings together resilience in the event of parts of the system being compromised, with throughput comparable to crash-fault tolerant systems. Our system further exhibits agnosticity of the exact cryptographic protocol adopted for meeting privacy, compliance and transparency objectives, while ensuring compatibility with the existing protocols in the literature. For the latter, performance is architecturally guaranteed to scale horizontally. We evaluated our system's performance using an enhanced version of Hyperledger Fabric, showing how a throughput of >100K TPS can be supported even with computation-heavy privacy-preserving protocols are in place.
Yao-Ching Hsieh, Huijia Lin, Ji Luo
In this work, we introduce new lattice-based techniques to overcome the depth-dependency limitations:
- Relying on a circular security assumption, we construct LFE, 1-key FE, 1-key ABE, and reusable garbling schemes capable of evaluating circuits of unbounded depth and size.
- Based on the *evasive circular* LWE assumption, a stronger variant of the recently proposed *evasive* LWE assumption [Wee, Eurocrypt '22; Tsabary, Crypto '22], we construct a full-fledged ABE scheme for circuits of unbounded depth and size.
Our LFE, 1-key FE, and reusable garbling schemes achieve optimal succinctness (up to polynomial factors in the security parameter). Their ciphertexts and input encodings have sizes linear in the input length, while function digest, secret keys, and garbled circuits have constant sizes independent of circuit parameters (for Boolean outputs). In fact, this gives the first constant-size garbled circuits without relying on indistinguishability obfuscation. Our ABE schemes offer short components, with master public key and ciphertext sizes linear in the attribute length and secret key being constant-size.
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security
Tenure-Track Faculty in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (f/m/d)
All applicants are expected to grow a research team that pursues an internationally visible research agenda. To aid you in achieving this, CISPA provides institutional base funding for three full-time researcher positions and a generous budget for expenditures. Upon successful tenure evaluation, you will hold a position that is equivalent to an endowed full professorship at a top research university. We invite applications of candidates with excellent track records in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
CISPA values diversity and is committed to equality. We provide special dual-career support. We explicitly encourage female and diverse researchers to apply.
The CISPA Tenure-Track in a nutshell:
Applications are invited for tenure-track faculty positions in all areas related to Security, Privacy, and Cryptography.
All applications are due by December 7, 2023 with interviews starting in January 2024. Please submit the following documents:
Closing date for applications:
Contact: scientific-recruiting@cispa.de
More information: https://jobs.cispa.saarland/de_DE/jobs/detail/tenure-track-faculty-in-artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning-f-m-d-240
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security
Tenure-Track Faculty in all areas related to Security, Privacy, and Cryptography (f/m/d)
All applicants are expected to grow a research team that pursues an internationally visible research agenda. To aid you in achieving this, CISPA provides institutional base funding for three full-time researcher positions and a generous budget for expenditures. Upon successful tenure evaluation, you will hold a position that is equivalent to an endowed full professorship at a top research university. We invite applications of candidates with excellent track records in all areas related to Security, Privacy, and Cryptography.
CISPA values diversity and is committed to equality. We provide special dual-career support. We explicitly encourage female and diverse researchers to apply.
The CISPA Tenure-Track in a nutshell:
Applications are invited for tenure-track faculty positions in all areas related to Security, Privacy, and Cryptography.
All applications are due by December 7, 2023 with interviews starting in January 2024. Please submit the following documents:
Closing date for applications:
Contact: scientific-recruiting@cispa.de
More information: https://jobs.cispa.saarland/de_DE/jobs/detail/tenure-track-faculty-in-all-areas-related-to-security-privacy-and-cryptography-f-m-d-241
11 November 2023
Cosade'24: The 15th International Workshop on "Constructive Side-channel Analysis and Secure Design"
Gardanne, France, 9 April - 10 April 2024
Submission deadline: 8 December 2023
Notification: 26 January 2024
10 November 2023
Shiyuan Xu, Yibo Cao, Xue Chen, Yuer Yang, Siu-Ming Yiu
08 November 2023
University of Wollongong, Institute of Cybersecurity and Cryptology; Wollongong, Australia
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Dr Partha Sarathi Roy (partha@uow.edu.au)
Simula UiB AS
Simula UiB has currently 13 Early Career Researchers working on a range of research problems in cryptography and information theory, and can offer a vibrant, stimulating and inclusive working environment to the successful candidate.
This is a 3-year position, which may be extended to a 4-year position to include career enhancing work. In this case, the student will dedicate 25% of their total PhD period to compulsory work related to their research area. Examples of this work include teaching, outreach activities and applied research experiments. The decision of a 4th year and its particular nature will be discussed during recruitment, and agreed on with the candidate at the time of start.
Simula UiB offers:
- Generous support for travel and opportunities to build international networks.
- A competitive salary; starting salary from NOK 532 200.
- Numerous employee benefits, including access to company cabin, sponsored social events, equipment budget, and comprehensive travel/health insurance policy.
- Relocation assistance, including complimentary Norwegian language courses.
- Healthy wellness and work-life balance arrangements.
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Carlos Cid (carlos@simula.no)
More information: https://www.simula.no/careers/job-openings/phd-student-in-post-quantum-cryptography/
07 November 2023
Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Dr. Rolando Trujillo at rolando.trujillo@urv.cat
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
The newly stablished Implementation Security group is one of the core groups forming the faculty of Computer Science in the Technische Universität Darmstadt and National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity (ATHENE). The research focus of the group is on the security of implementations. A large part of our research is dedicated to hardware security, protection against physical attacks (side-channel analysis and fault-injection attacks), security analysis of real-world systems particularly internet of things, and efficient hardware and software implementation of cryptographic primitives. This includes various implementation platforms like ASICs, FPGAs, and micro-processors.
The group is looking for excellent B.Sc. and M.Sc. graduates with outstanding grades and degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, and mathematics. In addition, we are looking for outstanding postdoctoral candidates from these fields. Initially, we offer three-year fully funded positions for B.Sc. and M.Sc. graduates. The expectation is to work towards a doctorate. Postdoctoral positions are initially offered a 2-year contract. Both PhD and Postdoctoral positions are subject to extensions. The salary will be according to the remuneration group E 13 TV-L (full time).
Our offerings:- Excellent research environment with award-winning scientists,
- Open team culture,
- Programs designed to support parents,
- Support measures for women in IT security,
- Excellent support for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers,
- Opportunities for academic and professional development,
- Budget for courses, conferences, equipment and international exchange
Are you interested? Please send your complete application documents in one single pdf file to: amir.moradi@tu-darmstadt.de. The required documents are: Curriculum Vitae, transcript of records of BSc., transcript of records of MSc. (if applicable), two reference names (supervisors or other researchers with whom you worked).
Closing date for applications:
Contact: Amir Moradi: (amir.moradi@tu-darmstadt.de)
University of St.Gallen, Switzerland
The student is expected to work on topics that include security and privacy issues in authentication. More precisely, the student will be working on investigating efficient and privacy-preserving authentication that provides: i) provable security guarantees, and ii) rigorous privacy guarantees.
Key Responsibilities:
- Perform exciting and challenging research in the domain of information security and cryptography.
- Support and assist in teaching computer security and cryptography courses.
- The PhD student is expected to have a MSc degree or equivalent, and strong background in cryptography, network security and mathematics.
- Experience in one or more domains such as cryptography, design of protocols, secure multi-party computation and differential privacy is beneficial.
- Excellent programming skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
The starting date for the position is flexible and come with a very competitive salary. The selection process runs until the suitable candidate has been found.
Please apply by 20th November 2023 through the job portal (via link).
Closing date for applications:
Contact:
Please, all applications through the job portal (via link).
Eriane Breu (Administrative matters)
Prof. Katerina Mitrokotsa (Research related questions)
More information: https://jobs.unisg.ch/offene-stellen/funded-phd-student-in-applied-cryptography-privacy-preserving-authentication-m-f-d-m-w-d/6ce1d454-47ca-4710-a9f2-33429243b4ac
University of St.Gallen, Switzerland
Our research interests are centered around information security and applied cryptography, with the larger goal of safeguarding communications and providing strong privacy guarantees. We are active in several areas, a subset of which include:
- Verifiable computation
- Secure, private and distributed aggregation
- Secure multi-party computation
- Privacy-preserving biometric authentication
- Anonymous credentials
- Distributed and privacy-preserving authentication
The starting date for the position is flexible and come with a very competitive salary. The selection process runs until the suitable candidate has been found. The University of St.Gallen conducts excellent research with international implications. The city of St.Gallen is located one hour from Zurich and offers a high quality of life.
Please apply by 20th November 2023 through the job portal (via link).
Closing date for applications:
Contact:
Please, all applications through the job portal (via link).
Eriane Breu (Administrative matters)
Prof. Katerina Mitrokotsa (Research related questions)
More information: https://jobs.unisg.ch/offene-stellen/postdoc-fellow-in-cryptography-information-security-m-f-d-m-w-d/831c6e8a-e191-48ec-92d5-320b2822a9ab
06 November 2023
Alessandro Chiesa, Ziyi Guan, Burcu Yıldız
We show that, perhaps surprisingly, parallel repetition of a PCP can increase soundness error, in fact bringing the soundness error to one as the number of repetitions tends to infinity. This "failure" of parallel repetition is common: we find that it occurs for a wide class of natural PCPs for NP-complete languages. We explain this unexpected phenomenon by providing a characterization result: the parallel repetition of a PCP brings the soundness error to zero if and only if a certain "MIP projection" of the PCP has soundness error strictly less than one. We show that our characterization is tight via a suitable example. Moreover, for those cases where parallel repetition of a PCP does bring the soundness error to zero, the aforementioned connection to MIPs offers preliminary results on the rate of decay of the soundness error.
Finally, we propose a simple variant of parallel repetition, called consistent parallel repetition (CPR), which has the same randomness complexity and query complexity as the plain variant of parallel repetition. We show that CPR brings the soundness error to zero for every PCP (with non-trivial soundness error). In fact, we show that CPR decreases the soundness error at an exponential rate in the repetition parameter.