- Status: Call for tenders
Background
Digital security is facing a new challenge due to the development of computationally powerful quantum computers, as many of the currently used cryptographic methods are at risk of breaking. Although post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms have long been studied as a promising precautionary measure, vulnerabilities in real-world physical implementations of cryptosystems, so-called side-channel attacks, pose an additional threat. These attacks can endanger even cryptographically securely modeled procedures by additionally correlating information. For example, power consumption, time measurements or electromagnetic emissions are used to reconstruct secret keys.
Aim
The aim of the SCA4PQC program is to develop cryptographic methods that are provably resistant to mathematical attacks from classical and quantum computers, and additionally to all common side-channel attacks. The focus is on developing efficient countermeasures that ensure holistic side-channel resistance in order to withstand future threats from new side-channel techniques. The program aims to ensure that the cryptosystems developed remain practicable and secure in real applications.
Disruptive Risk Research
The research program aims to identify technological and security breakthroughs at an early stage in order to fundamentally secure existing systems in the context of post-quantum cryptology by developing new methods. Identifying and mitigating risks that could arise from the combination of new quantum-based attacks and advanced side-channel techniques will be critical to anticipating as many attack vectors as possible and developing robust solutions before the technologies become widely deployed.