Towards Secure Implementation of Post-Quantum Schemes

Publié le
Lieu
Rennes
Type de contrat
CDD
Equipe de recherche
Contexte
In the new area of the internet-of-things, an increasing amount of connected objects are being integrated into our daily lives, becoming more accessible to users, and, consequently, also to malicious users. In addition to classical attacks, the cryptosystems are vulnerable to side-channel attacks (SCA) that can infer secret information from physical observations measured during the execution of sensitive computations. SCA typically exploits physical quantities such as time, electromagnetic emanation, and power consumption. These attacks have been successfully applied in many kinds of applications. They are non-intrusive and difficult to detect. Recently, a lot of attention has been raised in the area of post-quantum cryptography by the call of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the standardization of post-quantum schemes. One of the requirements for proposals is that they are resistant to all known cryptanalysis methods. However, when a scheme is immune to the latter, it may still be subject to side-channel attacks related to its implementation, even though a limited number of such attacks have been published.
Mission

We aim to analyze and protect post-quantum schemes against side-channel attacks (starting with code-based cryptosystems), in particular implementations submitted to NIST. Having found the flaws in these implementations, we will design countermeasures that will be implemented at the compilation (assembly language) level, to appropriately harden the code while preserving the algorithm, in order to provide the secure implementation. During these two years, the candidate will work on countermeasures specific to post-quantum schemes and their actual implementation at the compilation level. More than the binaries, the methodology, the tools, and the solutions to various faced practical issues will be of great interest to the community. Indeed, with the NIST competition ending soon, a number of post-quantum implementations will emerge on various platforms including embedded devices. Depending on the background and interests of the candidate, we are open to adjustments to the research strategies.

Profil / Compétences
- PhD in related research areas
- integration into the research environment
- willingness to supervise Ph.D. student(s)
- motivation to publish in A/A∗conferences
Durée du contrat (en mois)
24
Lieu de travail
Rennes
Salaire brut mensuel
Starting from 2600€, depending on experience.
Date prévisionnelle d'embauche
asap, or by mutual agreement.
Date limite de candidature
Candidater
Please send your application including CV, motivation letter, and references to annelie.heuser@irisa.fr.