Efficient and reliable computations for cryptography and coding: architectures and algorithms

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With the rapid advances in information, computer and communication technologies, huge amount of data is being processed, stored and exchanged among users which makes the data integrity and information security become very important issues. To protect the data and make it secure, various cryptographic primitives and error detecting/correcting codes are being incorporated in many standards and protocols and implemented in a wide range of platforms from powerful computers used in the servers and base stations to the limited ones used in smart phones and wireless devices. The cryptographic and coding schemes are naturally computationally complex functions and hence the system performance heavily relies on their efficient computations, specially in resource constrained embedded systems, such as smart cards, next generation passport, RFID tags, and wireless sensor networks, where the power consumption, memory, and bandwidth are very limited. One of the research directions of this proposal is to develop efficient algorithms and architectures for cryptographic and error control coding systems and then design, test and implement them for the above mentioned platforms. The complex nature of software algorithms and hardware architectures of cryptographic and coding systems makes the reliability of their implementations a challenge. Another focus of this research is to develop reliable techniques for software and hardware implementations of these systems. More importantly, since cryptographic systems perform in harsh and hostile environments, such robust schemes are required to counteract fault attacks and natural faults. This is a very important research area because the fault attacks have become the most significant threat to many practical cryptography-based security systems. Furthermore, with advances in IC manufacturing technology and improvements in the density and speed, occurring natural faults will become more likely in the products made by new technologies. Therefore, for the existing and future applications of cryptographic systems, developing reliable algorithms and architectures to counteract these threats is highly important. This research will lead to more secure and reliable systems with lower cost and higher performance.