Algebraic Methods in Design and Analysis of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates the problem of communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of prime concern. Stream ciphers are a very natural choice in mobile environment as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We model stream cipher as a system of multivariate equations. In this approach, security of stream ciphers can be measured as the c ....Algebraic Methods in Design and Analysis of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates the problem of communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of prime concern. Stream ciphers are a very natural choice in mobile environment as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We model stream cipher as a system of multivariate equations. In this approach, security of stream ciphers can be measured as the complexity of an algorithm that solves the appropriate system of equations. This project leads to new techniques for the design and analysis of stream ciphers.Read moreRead less
Secure and Efficient Cryptographic Hashing. This project will enhance information security, which is absolutely crucial for rapidly growing e-commerce, e-government services and for national security (Priority 4 -Safeguarding Australia - Protection against Terrorism and Crime). The project will strengthen international collaboration by reciprocal exchange of researchers and postgraduate students leading to more attractive and productive research environment. At the same time, the project will he ....Secure and Efficient Cryptographic Hashing. This project will enhance information security, which is absolutely crucial for rapidly growing e-commerce, e-government services and for national security (Priority 4 -Safeguarding Australia - Protection against Terrorism and Crime). The project will strengthen international collaboration by reciprocal exchange of researchers and postgraduate students leading to more attractive and productive research environment. At the same time, the project will help to maintain high research profile of Australian researchers, to increase the capacity for consultancy and contract work, and provide a cutting-edge information technology for the Australian telecommunications industry, business and government (Priority 3 - Frontier Technologies). Read moreRead less
Algebraic Models of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of a prime concern. Stream ciphers are a natural choice in mobile environments as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We treat stream ciphers as algebraic objects whose properties fully determine their cryptographic strength. We first analyse existing stream ciphers showing their algebraic ....Algebraic Models of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of a prime concern. Stream ciphers are a natural choice in mobile environments as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We treat stream ciphers as algebraic objects whose properties fully determine their cryptographic strength. We first analyse existing stream ciphers showing their algebraic properties and later we derive a design methodology for provably secure stream ciphers. The project leads to new secure and efficient designs for stream ciphers that are the preferred cryptographic tools used in Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Algebraic Analysis of Cryptosystems. This project studies an (new) algebraic approach to cryptanalysis of modern block ciphers. The approach works for all cryptosystems that use either small S-boxes, or their algebraic structure can be described by a system of overdefined quadratic equations. The cryptosystems that are potentially breakable using this approach are Rijndael and Serpent - the two top finalists of the Advanced Encryption Standard contest. The project also explores how this approach ....Algebraic Analysis of Cryptosystems. This project studies an (new) algebraic approach to cryptanalysis of modern block ciphers. The approach works for all cryptosystems that use either small S-boxes, or their algebraic structure can be described by a system of overdefined quadratic equations. The cryptosystems that are potentially breakable using this approach are Rijndael and Serpent - the two top finalists of the Advanced Encryption Standard contest. The project also explores how this approach can be applied to design new and more powerful factoring algorithms. The project has an explosive potential to redefine the theory and practice of modern cryptography.Read moreRead less
Cryptographic Protocols: Proofs and Designs. Cryptographic protocols are the foundation for protection of the critical electronic communications infrastructure on which much of commerce and industry rely. They will increasingly be required in emerging technologies such as ad-hoc wireless networks and sensor networks. This project will provide the ability to design new and efficient protocols with a mathematical guarantee of security. The resulting practical protocols will benefit all users of el ....Cryptographic Protocols: Proofs and Designs. Cryptographic protocols are the foundation for protection of the critical electronic communications infrastructure on which much of commerce and industry rely. They will increasingly be required in emerging technologies such as ad-hoc wireless networks and sensor networks. This project will provide the ability to design new and efficient protocols with a mathematical guarantee of security. The resulting practical protocols will benefit all users of electronic communications who require security for their information. This includes the financial industries, government, commerce and domestic users.Read moreRead less
Secure Communications for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems. Control systems are crucial to the nation's critical infrastructure. They supervise and command the remote devices used in the energy distribution, water management, telecommunications, and transport industries. Historically, security has not been a concern in the design of control systems communications, which has resulted in their current vulnerable state. This project will establish the communications security requirements ....Secure Communications for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems. Control systems are crucial to the nation's critical infrastructure. They supervise and command the remote devices used in the energy distribution, water management, telecommunications, and transport industries. Historically, security has not been a concern in the design of control systems communications, which has resulted in their current vulnerable state. This project will establish the communications security requirements of control systems technologies and propose suitable secure communications schemes. New cryptographic protocols and analytic models will be developed to account for the criticality and operational peculiarities of control systems communications. These results are of significant potential value to Australia's critical infrastructure protection.Read moreRead less
Cryptographic Protocols from Pairings: Proofs and Designs. Modern society has become critically dependent on information and communications infrastructures. At the same time, the development of e-commerce is being slowed by lack of confidence in its security. By providing increased assurance and enhanced cryptographic security protocols this research will improve the dependability of the nation's information and communications infrastructure, as well as encourage the growth of e-commerce. Throu ....Cryptographic Protocols from Pairings: Proofs and Designs. Modern society has become critically dependent on information and communications infrastructures. At the same time, the development of e-commerce is being slowed by lack of confidence in its security. By providing increased assurance and enhanced cryptographic security protocols this research will improve the dependability of the nation's information and communications infrastructure, as well as encourage the growth of e-commerce. Through the expertise and experience gained with this project, Australia's excellence in information security research will be reinforced. The training of PhD and Honours students will provide a much needed source of highly trained information security professionals.Read moreRead less
Private Information Retrieval. The deliverables of this project will enhance information protection which is essential for rapidly expanding e-commerce applications and network communication. It will maintain and strengthen national capability of protecting the confidential integrity of digital systems and the network infrastructure in Australia. It will contribute to maintaining Australia's leading position in telecommunications and information industries. It will enhance the quality of our ....Private Information Retrieval. The deliverables of this project will enhance information protection which is essential for rapidly expanding e-commerce applications and network communication. It will maintain and strengthen national capability of protecting the confidential integrity of digital systems and the network infrastructure in Australia. It will contribute to maintaining Australia's leading position in telecommunications and information industries. It will enhance the quality of our culture by protecting individual's privacy and providing security for sensitive data. Read moreRead less
Exploring the Frontiers of Feasible Computation. The project aims to delineate the boundary between feasible and infeasible computational problems. A problem is considered feasible if there is an algorithm to solve it in worst-case time bounded by a polynomial in the input size. This is probably impossible for the important class of NP-complete problems. However, typical examples of NP-complete problems can often be solved in polynomial time, because worst-case problems are rare. The project is ....Exploring the Frontiers of Feasible Computation. The project aims to delineate the boundary between feasible and infeasible computational problems. A problem is considered feasible if there is an algorithm to solve it in worst-case time bounded by a polynomial in the input size. This is probably impossible for the important class of NP-complete problems. However, typical examples of NP-complete problems can often be solved in polynomial time, because worst-case problems are rare. The project is relevant to public-key cryptography, where breaking an encryption scheme should be infeasible, and to many real-life situations where NP-complete problems need to be solved, either exactly or approximately.Read moreRead less
Investigations Into New Public Key Systems. Public key cryptography is now mainstream technology and an essential tool in electronic business. In order to go beyond the basic security services of confidentiality and authentication, additional features are now desirable, such as verifiability of encryption, distributed key generation, and group-oriented encryption and signatures. At the same time the increasing demand for mobile business requires public key implementations with minimal computatio ....Investigations Into New Public Key Systems. Public key cryptography is now mainstream technology and an essential tool in electronic business. In order to go beyond the basic security services of confidentiality and authentication, additional features are now desirable, such as verifiability of encryption, distributed key generation, and group-oriented encryption and signatures. At the same time the increasing demand for mobile business requires public key implementations with minimal computational and storage demands. This project will study five recently proposed public key algorithms and assess their suitability for various secure applications. These results are of significant potential value in Australia's electronic commerce market.Read moreRead less