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Cryptography in the Quantum Age

Date: 
01/01/2015 to 31/12/2020

Quantum cryptography can provide security. Its best-known achievement is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) which allows the generation of cryptographic keys based on the laws of quantum mechanics. However, modern cryptography studies a broad variety of other scenarios such as identification, secure collaboration, electronic voting, etc. that go far beyond the task of key distribution. For all these tasks, most of the classical protocols used today become insecure once an adversary is in possession of a quantum computer. Even worse, not much is currently known about possible options to replace these protocols with secure variants. On the other hand, quantum effects can also be used by honest parties to obtain more secure protocols. This project studies this two-edged sword. My project consists of two workpackages: 1. As PhD project, I propose to investigate the field of position-based quantum cryptography. In standard cryptography, a password or digital key is used to identify a player. The goal of position-based cryptography is to use the geographical position as a cryptographic credential. The combination of relativistic constraints (assuring that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light) and quantum mechanical effects (such as the impossibility to perfectly copy a quantum state) enables entirely new cryptographic applications like sending a message in such a way that it can only be read at a particular geographic position. 2. Together with a postdoc, I will work on systematically developing a quantum-cryptographic toolbox that can be used to prove the security of quantum protocols for more demanding tasks than key distribution. Taken as a whole, this project will make cryptography ready for the quantum age and improve the privacy of individuals, companies and public administration. My research expertise in both the fields of classical cryptography and quantum information theory give me the right profile to undertake such an exploration.

Week: 
Tuesday, 11 December, 2018

News

On the event of the adoption of the draft regulation laying down measures for a high common level of cybersecurity at the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, the AI4HealthSec project kicked off a process to provide its opinion.