SaTC: CORE: Medium: Cryptography in a Post-Quantum Future

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Quantum computers appear imminent. Indeed, after decades of theoretical work demonstrating the power of quantum computation, followed by steady experimental progress in academia, several large companies and startups are now investing significant resources in building quantum computers. It has long been understood that the advent of quantum computers would render currently deployed public-key cryptosystems insecure. NIST's post-quantum standardization effort will address this, but is only the tip of the iceberg. Cryptography in a post-quantum future does not merely involve swapping out one set of hard problems for another, but instead requires a paradigm shift in the way we think about attackers and approach the challenge of securing information. This project brings together researchers with complementary expertise in classical (including post-quantum) cryptography and quantum cryptography to develop new foundational theories needed for quantum-secure cryptography and, equally importantly, to train the next generation of students to "natively" view cryptography from a quantum perspective. Some of the problems to be addressed include (1) security of symmetric-key primitives against quantum attackers; (2) investigating the power of the quantum random-oracle model; and (3) seeking to overcome existing impossibility results by exploring (3a) cryptosystems in which honest parties use quantum computation (but classical communication) and (3b) classical constructions proven secure via quantum reductions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.