Hardware implementation challenges for post-quantum cryptography
COM1 Level 2
SR3, COM1-02-12
Abstract :
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is a new class of cryptography that resists in theory (mathematical) attacks from quantum computers. Indeed, PQC relies on new mathematical foundations for which no efficient quantum algorithms have been discovered yet to break them.
PQC is at the basis of new standardization efforts for public key cryptography and digital signatures. Its lattice-based mathematical structures are also the foundation for fully homomorphic encryption schemes, and computing on encrypted data in general.
This seminar will focus on the digital design challenges of these novel cryptographic structures on existing hardware platforms: CPU, GPU, FPGA, ASIC. On top, these implementations also must resist a wide variety of side-channel, fault, and micro-architectural attacks or any combination of them. In this presentation, we will demonstrate up to date attacks and research results to address these challenges.
Biodata:
Ingrid Verbauwhede’s main expertise includes system and architecture design, embedded system, ASIC and FPGA design and design methodologies for real-time, low power embedded systems and more specifically embedded security systems.
Her ability to cross the gap between algorithm and protocol development and actual implementation in hardware, software and embedded systems has been widely recognized. Ingrid Verbauwhede is a fellow of IEEE and of IACR, and a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts. She received two advanced ERC grants in 2016 and 2021 respectively.
Her most recent awards are the 2023 the IEEE Donald O. Pederson Solid-State Circuits Award and the 2024 EDAA Achievement Award. In 2025, Ingrid Verbauwhede received the FWO Excellence Prize Dr. A. De Leeuw-Damry-Bourlart in Applied Sciences. She was recognized for her pioneering work in hardware and semiconductor security, a research area that is becoming increasingly crucial in today’s digital and interconnected world. Ingrid Verbauwhede is also a co-founder of the start-up company Belfort, which is based on the results of her advanced ERC grants.