International Association for Cryptologic Research

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2013-12-29
13:17 [Pub][ePrint]

In Eurocrypt\'98, Blaze et al. introduced the concept of proxy re-encryption (PRE). It allows a semi-trusted proxy to convert a ciphertext originally intended for Alice into one which

can be decrypted by Bob, without the proxy knowing the corresponding plaintext. PRE has found many applications, such as in encrypted e-mail forwarding[8], distributed secure file systems[1,2], multicast[10] cloud computation etc. However, all the PRE schemes until now require the delegator (or the delegator and the delegatee cooperatively) to generate the re-encryption keys. We observe

that this is not the only way to generate the re-encryption keys, the encrypter also has the ability to generate re-encryption keys. Based on this observation, we introduce a new primitive: PRE^{+},

which is almost the same as the traditional PRE except the re-encryption keys generated by the encrypter. Interestingly, this PRE^{+} can be viewed as the dual of the traditional PRE. Compared

with PRE, PRE can easily achieve the non-transferable property and message-level based fine-grained delegation, while these two properties are very desirable in practical applications. We first

categorize PRE^{+} as the single-hop and multi-hop variant and discuss its potential applications, then we give the definition and security model for the single-hop PRE^{+}, construct a concrete scheme and

prove its security. Finally we conclude our paper with many interesting open problems.

13:17 [Pub][ePrint]

We show how to extract an arbitrary polynomial number of simultaneously hardcore bits from any one-way function. Our construction is based on differing-input obfuscation.

13:17 [Pub][ePrint]

We provide a general construction of a rational secret-sharing

protocol in which the secret can be reconstructed in expected three rounds.

Our construction converts any rational secret-sharing protocol

to a protocol with an expected three-round reconstruction in a black-box manner.

Our construction works in synchronous but non-simultaneous channels,

and preserves a strict Nash equilibrium of the original protocol.

Combining with an existing protocol,

we obtain a rational secret-sharing protocol

that achieves a strict Nash equilibrium with the optimal coalition resilience

of $\\ceil{\\frac{n}{2}}-1$ for expected constant-round protocols,

where $n$ is the number of players.

Although the coalition resilience of $\\ceil{\\frac{n}{2}}-1$ is shown to be optimal

as long as we consider constant-round protocols,

we circumvent this limitation by considering players

who do not prefer to reconstruct \\emph{fake} secrets.

By assuming such players,

we construct an expected constant-round protocol that achieves a strict Nash equilibrium

with coalition resilience of $n-1$.

We also extend our construction to a protocol that preserves \\emph{immunity}

to unexpectedly behaving (or malicious) players.

Then we obtain a protocol that achieves a Nash equilibrium

with coalition resilience of $\\ceil{\\frac{n}{2}}-t-1$

in the presence of $t$ unexpectedly behaving players for any constant $t \\geq 1$.

The same protocol also achieves a strict Nash equilibrium in the absence of malicious players.

2013-12-27
13:37 [Job][New]

Coding and Cryptography Group at the University of Tartu, Estonia, is looking for a research fellow for a project on design and decoding of LDPC codes. The ideal candidate will have strength in one or more of the following areas:

• LDPC codes and iterative decoding algorithms

• Optimization methods applied to error correction

• Mathematical foundations of coding theory

• Any area related to coding theory

The project is a collaboration with the University of Bergen, Norway, and the University of Valladolid, Spain. Salary is at least 2000 euro per month before taxes plus social benefits, depending on qualification and experience. Some travel money will also be provided. Cost of living in Estonia is quite low, see e.g. http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living. Employment contract is for two years.

A successful candidate should:

• Hold a Ph.D. degree

• Have a strong background in coding theory or a related field

• Have an international publication record at outstanding venues

To apply, please submit the following documents (by email):

• Application letter

• Research statement

• Curriculum vitae

• Publication list

• Two letters of reference (make sure they reach us by the application deadline)

Deadline for applications: 1 February 2014

2013-12-20
16:48 [Job][New]

The objective of this thesis is the forensic reconstruction of partially erased data of various types. The problem that we will tackle is formalized as follows: We consider a data object instance as the result of a function F(t,r) where t encodes the objet type and r is a random number. The OS can create objects, erase them or update them. Erasure is done by forgetting the object’s reference and hence implicitly recycling the space on which it was written. The problem consists in reconstructing algorithmically erased data objects of various types and modeling the conditions under which various assortments of types subject to a given number of rewriting cycles can still be recovered. The methods that will be developed will subsequently be applied to iOS and Android.

The candidate should have solid programming and algorithmic skills. Prior knowledge of reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro is a plus. The candidate will interact with zero-day exploit hunters and physical reverse engineering experts and will have access to very advanced computing and forensic facilities. This proposal is reserved to French nationals only and is fully funded.

Interested candidates should contact directly david.naccache (at) ens.fr

16:17 [Pub][ePrint]

Ecash is a concept of electronic cash which would allow users to carry money in form of digital coins. Transaction can be done both offline and online in absence of a third party/financial institution. This paper proposes an offline model which supports multiple usage of transferable ecoin. The protocol is based on RSA, digital signature and a two-step encryption process. In this two step encryption, the user account details are encrypted in the coin using unique numbers in each step. The first encryption takes place during the successful receipt of the coin, where a receive end number is used for encryption,which is unique for every receipt. The second step of encryption takes place during successful spending of the coin,where a spending end receive number is used for encryption, which is unique for every spenfing of the coin. These two unique numbers comprise the major part of encryption in this model, prevents double spending and preserves user anonymity.

16:17 [Pub][ePrint]

Many RFID authentication protocols have been proposed to provide desired security and privacy level for RFID systems. Almost all of these protocols are based symmetric cryptography because of the limited resources of RFID tags. Recently Cheng et. al have been proposed an RFID security protocol based on chaotic maps. In this paper, we analyze the security of this protocol and discover its vulnerabilities. We firstly present a de-synchronization attack in which a passive adversary makes the shared secrets out-of-synchronization by eavesdropping just one protocol session. We secondly present a secret disclosure attack in which a passive adversary extracts secrets of a tag by eavesdropping just one protocol session. An adversary having the secrets of the tag can launch some other attacks.

16:17 [Pub][ePrint]

In this paper we present three digital signature schemes with tight security reductions. Our first signature scheme is a particularly efficient version of the short exponent discrete log based scheme of Girault et al. (J. of Cryptology 2006). Our scheme has a tight reduction to the decisional Short Discrete Logarithm problem, while still maintaining the non-tight reduction to the computational version of the problem upon which the original scheme of Girault et al. is based. The second signature scheme we construct is a modification of the scheme of Lyubashevsky (Asiacrypt 2009) that is based on the worst-case hardness of the shortest vector problem in ideal lattices. And the third scheme is a very simple signature scheme that is based directly on the hardness of the Subset Sum problem.

We also present a general transformation that converts what we term lossy identification schemes into signature schemes with tight security reductions. We believe that this greatly simplifies the task of constructing and proving the security of

such signature schemes.

2013-12-18
15:08 [Job][New]

The Laboratory for Security and Cryptography (LASEC) at EPFL is hiring a post doctoral researcher. Applicants are encouraged to apply to job_lasec (at) epfl.ch by sending a detailed CV and a research plan.

LASEC is active in research on cryptography and security. More specifically, our main interests currently span (but are not limited to) the following:

• hardware implementation and embedded systems,

• homomorphic and functional encryption,

• provable security.

We strongly encourage the application by researchers who have proved

excellence in one of these domains.

The selection of applicants will be made on a competitive basis.

Besides conducting top-quality research, postdocs are required to

participate the the lab activities such as training students at all levels,

running projects, fund raising, etc.

EPFL is a top-ranked research and teaching institution that attracts

some of the best intellects in the world. EPFL offers excellent

facilities, environment, and salaries. EPFL\\\'s campus is a multi

cultural, idyllic spot overlooking Lake Geneva and facing the Alps.