Project Proposals for MAI from COSIC

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Project Proposals for MAIfrom COSIC

• Oct. 6th, 2004. 2.20pm

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COSIC who are we?

• COmputer Security Industrial Cryptography
• Mobile security and protocols
• Fast and secure implementations
• Security architectures (XML, ... )
• Design analysis of cryptographic algorithms
  (Advanced Encryption Standard, RIPEMD)
• Interdisciplinary and international research
  group 35 researchers from engineering, computer
  science, mathematics, MAI, ... and from 12
  countries.

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COSIC project proposals

• Full text of our project proposals can be found
  at http//www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/cosic/thesis/
• We will now present these proposals briefly
• Feel free to contact the daily supervisor if you
  have any further questions

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1. Java-implementation of Multivariate Public-key
Cryptosystems

• Multivariate Public Key schemes can be used in
  the context of mobile agents for authentication
  and encryption of sensitive data.
• Goal of the project implementation of a known
  algorithm in Java.
• The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a
  Java crypto-provider, i.e., to produce an open
  source implementation of such an algorithm.
• The finite-field routines - needed for this
  implementation - are already available. Hence,
  the students can concentrate on the cryptographic
  algorithms alone.
• Christopher.Wolf_at_esat.kuleuven.ac.be
• Office ESAT 02.22

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2. Software security through diversity

• Software on entrusted hosts has to be protected
  against attacks.
• A software agent, for example, travels from host
  to host. Therefore, it needs adequate
  protection.
• To avoid a global, automated attack disabling the
  whole agent system, diversity is introduced.
  Hence, each agent implementations differs on an
  implementation level, while preserving its
  functionality.
• Code transformations could be used to replicate
  agents, while a genetic algorithms could monitor
  their evolution.
• Jan.Cappaert_at_esat.kuleuven.ac.be
• Office ESAT 02.20

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3. Breaking the Grille Cipher

• 16th century transposition cipher
• Invented by Girolamo Cardano.
• Used by Cardinal Richelieu in 17th century
• Used by Germans in WWI.

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3. Breaking the Grille Cipher (cont.)

• Broken by French cryptanalysts (up to 10x10, 4
  months of work)
• Large secret key
• 10x10 -gt 250 possibilities
• 16x16 -gt 2128 possibilities
• Goal Design clever heuristic algorithm to break
  arbitrary sizes in real time on a computer.
• Christophe.Decanniere_at_esat.kuleuven.ac.be
• Alex.Biryukov_at_esat.kuleuven.ac.be
• Office ESAT 01.58

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4. Modelling and simulating timing attacks on RSA
using search methods
Mathematical security
Physical security??

• Side-channels
• Timing
• Power consumption
• Electromagnetic radiation

CRYPTODEVICE
INPUT
SECRET OUTPUT
SECRET KEY
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t f(input,secret key)
t
output
input
Input 1 t1 Input 2 t2 Input N
tN
Find key using search methods (sequence analysis,
markov models)

Elke.demulder_at_esat.kuleuven.ac.be Nele.mentens_at_esa
t.kuleuven.ac.be Office ESAT 01.62