New Directions in Public-Key Cryptography

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Public-key cryptography is a critical technology for securing communications over the internet and other communications channels. The two public-key technologies in widespread use today are RSA and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). It has been known since 1994 that both these technologies are completely insecure against attacks by computers that are capable of exploiting quantum mechanical effects. However, despite intensive efforts around the world, it is still not known whether such large-scale quantum computers can actually be built.Nonetheless, many advances have been made and some researchers are making somewhat optimistic predictions of the timeline for building large-scale quantum computers. Motivated in part by these predictions, the demand by governments and industry for public-key cryptographic technologies that withstand attacks by quantum computers is growing. The goal of my research is to contribute to the development, analysis, implementation, standardization and commercialization of these quantum-safe public-key cryptographic technologies. I will also continue working on two ongoing long-term research programs. The first is the study of the security, efficiency and functionality of so-called pairing-based protocols. These protocols have been a major theme in cryptographic research since 2000. However, in the past three years several powerful attacks have been discovered which calls for a reassessment of their security and efficiency. The second ongoing long-term research program aims to get a deeper understanding of the concrete security guarantees actually provided by reductionist security proofs for cryptographic protocols, including protocols that have been designed to be quantum safe. The proposed research is inherently multidisciplinary in nature drawing from the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, and engineering. Graduate students who work on the research programs will be well prepared to enter the academic profession and the security industry and contribute towards making the internet quantum safe.