Dr. Chloe Martindale is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol , affiliated with the School of Computer Science . Her research focuses on cryptography, particularly in isogeny-based systems, public-key cryptosystems, and computational mathematics. Her recent work includes parametrizing maximal orders along supersingular isogeny paths and analyzing attacks on the SIDH protocol. She has contributed to homomorphic encryption security using abelian groups. Scientific Awards Best Paper Honorable Mention (2023) Dutch Cyber Security Research Paper Award (2019)
Stefan Rass is a Professor at the Institute of Networks and Security within the Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences at Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), where he leads the LIT Secure and Correct Systems Lab. As Principal Investigator for FFG-funded projects including reSilienz (digital supply chain resilience, 2023–2025) and ITPUK (AI signature verification, 2022–2024), he bridges theoretical game theory with practical cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructures and robotics systems. His research spans game-theoretic security models (patrolling games, defense-in-depth strategies), quantum cryptography (QKD network architectures), and cyber deception frameworks like Honeyquest for measuring honeypot effectiveness. Recent work addresses robotics security benchmarking (RobotPerf), cryptographic instruction chaining for control flow protection, and risk assessment methodologies for interdependent infrastructures. His mathematical decision-making approach integrates bounded rationality and stochastic modeling to solve real-world security challenges. Professor Rass actively shapes the field through program committee roles (ARES 2023), peer reviews, and invited talks on security transparency. His current projects focus on cost-benefit-aware monitoring for cyber-physical systems and quantum key distribution standardization, reflecting Austria’s strategic priorities in digital resilience. The LIT Secure and Correct Systems Lab under his direction develops foundational theories while deploying tools for industrial applications, particularly in critical infrastructure protection and secure robotics workflows.
Adi Shamir is the Paul and Marlene Borman Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He has held prestigious positions at MIT and École Normale Supérieure, and his career spans over four decades of pioneering research in cryptography. BSc in Mathematics from Tel Aviv University (1973) MSc and PhD in Computer Science from Weizmann Institute (1975, 1977) As a leading cryptographer, Shamir's work focuses on: Creating and breaking cryptographic codes Developing new paradigms like broadcast encryption and ring signatures Researching T-functions and cryptanalytic attacks Protecting against side-channel attacks such as power analysis His research contributions are evident in publications like 'How to Leak a Secret' (2001), 'Analysis of Neural Cryptography' (2002), and 'Factoring Large Numbers with the TWIRL Device' (2003), which reflect trends in digital signatures, neural network applications, and factoring algorithms. Key Scientific Awards: Turing Award (2002) Israel Prize (2008) Japan Prize (2017) Wolf Prize in Mathematics (2024) Fellowships in multiple prestigious academies Shamir has advised students in cryptographic research and continues to contribute to the field through his academic work at Weizmann Institute, where he has held a professorship since 1984.
Alex Biryukov is a full professor in Cryptography and Information Security at the University of Luxembourg, affiliated with the Computer Science and Communications Research Unit (CSC) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT). Previously, he served as an associate professor and visiting professor at K.U.Leuven, contributing to European standards (NESSIE) and ECRYPT consortia. His expertise spans applied cryptography, cryptanalysis, lightweight cryptography for IoT, cryptocurrency security, and privacy technologies like Tor and blockchain. Biryukov has held roles as program chair for FSE'07, SAC'10, and INDOCRYPT'15, and is a program committee member for top conferences including CRYPTO and CCS. He leads the FNR CORE project ACRYPT on lightweight cryptography for IoT and contributes to the COST Action IC1403 on cryptanalysis of ubiquitous systems. His teaching focuses on symmetric cryptography, network security, and real-world applications. Biryukov earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Technion and completed postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute under Adi Shamir. Research interests include cryptanalysis of block ciphers (e.g., AES, SIMON, SPECK), cryptocurrency protocols, and privacy-enhancing technologies. He has pioneered attacks on AES variants and contributed to lightweight algorithms like SPARX and Argon2. Biryukov's work bridges theoretical cryptography with practical implementations, addressing security in embedded systems and blockchain.
Bart Preneel is a Full Professor at KU Leuven since 2006 and director of the COSIC research group (60 members). He has held visiting professorships at institutions including the Technical University of Denmark and University of California, Berkeley (1993-1994). He co-founded the Leuven Security Excellence Consortium (L-SEC) and chairs the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). Education : Electrical Engineering (1987) and Doctorate in Applied Sciences (1993), both from KU Leuven. Research Focus : Cryptology, cryptographic algorithm design, privacy protocols, and secure software/hardware implementations. His work bridges theoretical cryptography (e.g., hash functions, side-channel analysis) with real-world applications (e.g., automotive privacy, mobile authentication). Scientific Contributions : His publications span cryptanalysis, authentication, privacy metrics, and secure protocol design, with a focus on both foundational theory and practical implementations. Notable works include advancements in side-channel distinguishers and privacy-preserving insurance systems. Scientific Awards : European Information Security Award 2003; Honorary CISM designation by ISACA. Leadership : Supervised 45 PhD students, served as ERC grant panel chair (2013), and contributed to over 30 European research projects. He has testified as an expert before the Belgian and European Parliaments and participated in standardization initiatives (IEEE, ISO/TC68, IETF). Labs/Teams : Leads COSIC (KU Leuven), a member of iMinds; co-founded L-SEC vzw, a security industry collaboration network.
Elisabeth Oswald is a University Professor at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, affiliated with the Institut für Artificial Intelligence und Cybersecurity. Her research focuses on cryptographic security, side-channel attacks, and leakage detection in hardware and software implementations. She is a key contributor to advancements in cryptographic resilience, countermeasures against side-channel vulnerabilities, and the development of efficient security evaluation frameworks. Her work spans theoretical and applied cryptography, with a strong emphasis on practical security challenges in embedded systems and cryptographic protocols. Notable areas include the analysis of masking techniques, multi-task learning applications in AES implementations, and the certification of leakage-resistant systems. She also explores statistical methods for evaluating cryptographic systems' robustness, such as mutual information estimation and distinguisher-based approaches. Her articles from 2021–2025 highlight contributions to post-quantum cryptography (e.g., FrodoKEM optimization), leakage model completeness, and the practical implications of side-channel countermeasures. While no specific awards are listed, her extensive publication record underscores her influence in the field. She is actively involved in academic governance, including membership in the Curricularkommission Informatik.
Miodrag Mihaljević is a Research Professor at the Mathematical Institute , Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Belgrade, Serbia) since 1999, and serves as Deputy Director of the Institute and Head of the National Center for Cyber Security and Privacy . He has held visiting positions at institutions including The University of Tokyo (1997-2023), AIST (2006-2013), and Chuo University (2013-2014), with a focus on cryptology and information security. BSEE (1979), University of Belgrade MS (1981) and Ph.D. (1990) in Electrical Engineering His research spans Cryptology , Blockchain Technology , Information Security , and Coding Theory , with significant contributions to symmetric key cryptography, stream ciphers, LPN problem analysis, broadcast encryption, and lightweight authentication protocols. His work addresses applications in IoT, cloud computing, and smart grid security, often integrating blockchain for data integrity and access control. Recent publications highlight blockchain-enabled solutions for smart contract vulnerability detection (2025), cross-chain identity authentication (2025), and secure inference in IoT (2025). Earlier works focus on cryptographic attacks (e.g., fast correlation, algebraic attacks) and security frameworks for software-defined radio and cloud systems. Scientific recognition includes the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Award (2013), JSPS Fellowship (1998), and consistent inclusion in the World's Top 2% Scientists (2020-2024). He has led projects on cryptographic techniques for information security (2002-2019) and holds multiple international patents in encryption/decryption systems.
Ass.-Prof. Arnab Roy is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) at the Security and Privacy Lab, University of Innsbruck, Austria. His research focuses on cryptography and cryptanalysis, secure computation, and information security. He has held academic and research roles at institutions such as Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, University of Bristol, and Technical University of Denmark. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2014), University of Luxembourg M.Tech. in Computer Science (2007), Indian Statistical Institute M.Sc. in Mathematics (2004), IIT Kanpur B.Sc.(Hons.) in Mathematics (2002), University of Calcutta Research Interests: Dr. Roy’s work addresses advanced cryptographic systems, including post-quantum cryptography, side-channel resistance, and zero-knowledge proofs. He designs efficient cryptographic primitives for constrained environments and explores leakage certification methods. His contributions span cryptanalysis of block ciphers, hash functions, and protocol security. Professional Activities: Serving on program committees for ACNS 2024, CT-RSA 2024, and Eurocrypt 2019 Reviewer for major conferences including CRYPTO, Eurocrypt, and Asiacrypt Organizer of ALPSY (2024) and SILC (2021) Lab & Team: The Security and Privacy Lab focuses on foundational and applied research in cryptography, with ongoing projects on algebraic systems for cryptographic permutations and leakage-resilient designs.
Vishnupriya Anupindi is a Research Scientist at RICAM (Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics) within the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Linz. She has held this position since February 2023 as a postdoc researcher, following her PhD (2019–2023) in Mathematics at Johannes Kepler University (JKU), Linz, under Dr. László Mérai. Her work focuses on pseudorandom sequences from hyperelliptic curves, digital nets, Quasi-Monte Carlo methods, and number theory applications in cryptography. Education: BSc (Triple Major in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, 2012–2015), MSc in Mathematics (Algebra/Number Theory, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany, 2015–2018), PhD in Mathematics (JKU-Linz, 2019–2023). Research interests include digital nets/sequences, finite fields, elliptic curves, pseudorandom number generation, and cryptographic applications. She has contributed to studies on linear complexity of sequences derived from genus 2 curves and column-reduced digital nets. Her work bridges number theory with computational methods, impacting areas like cryptography and numerical integration. Teaching includes roles as a Teaching Assistant at JKU for courses in Mathematics for AI, Physics, and Analysis. She is an active organizer, chairing the 4th Austrian Day of Women in Mathematics (2024) and co-organizing similar events. She has given talks at international conferences and held research visits at institutions like Nagoya University and the University of Bristol.
Elena Andreeva is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Security and Privacy department at TU Wien. Her research focuses on symmetric cryptography, including authenticated encryption, block ciphers, hash functions, privacy-friendly protocols, and blockchain technologies. She coordinates the Double-Degree Program in IT Security and actively participates in the Faculty Council. Her work emphasizes both theoretical foundations and practical cryptographic solutions for secure data communication and storage. Research interests include designing and analyzing cryptographic algorithms with applications in IoT-to-cloud secure computation, lightweight encryption schemes, and quantum-resistant primitives. Her projects, such as SFB SPyCoDe (2023–2026), explore efficient compression functions and expanding PRFs for arithmetization-oriented hashing. Articles Overview : Recent publications emphasize authenticated encryption schemes (e.g., COLM), pseudorandom number generators (TPRF-based), and novel cryptographic designs like Forkcipher. These contributions address both theoretical security models and practical efficiency in resource-constrained environments. She advises students on master/bachelor theses and internships, fostering the next generation of cybersecurity researchers. Her involvement in curriculum development and interdisciplinary programs underscores her commitment to advancing both academic and applied cryptography.
Aleksei Udovenko is a post-doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Algorithmics, Cryptology and Security (LACS) within the Security and Trust (SnT) interdisciplinary center and the Department of Computer Science (CSC) at the University of Luxembourg. His research focuses on symmetric cryptography, cryptanalysis techniques, and white-box cryptography, with notable contributions to projects like Equihash (a memory-hard proof-of-work scheme used in cryptocurrencies) and the SPARX family of lightweight block ciphers. Education: PhD in Cryptology under Prof. Alex Biryukov (2019), MSc from ITMO University (2013). Research Interests: Symmetric-key algorithms, cryptanalysis methodologies, white-box cryptography, blockchain technologies, and lightweight cryptographic primitives. He actively participates in information security competitions (CTFs) and collaborates on projects related to cryptocurrency protocols and hardware-software security. Recent Work: Authored/co-authored papers on cryptanalysis of ARX-based ciphers, LPN attacks in white-box settings, and secure obfuscation techniques. Notable publications include work on Equihash (NDSS 2016), SPARX (ASIACRYPT 2016), and advancements in meet-in-the-filter cryptanalysis techniques (SAC 2022, CHES 2023). Professional Affiliations: Member of the CryptoLUX research group, contributing to interdisciplinary projects at the University of Luxembourg. Involved in conferences such as CRYPTO, CHES, and FSE.
Anton Zeilinger is a Full Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Vienna and Scientific Director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He served as President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences from 2013 to 2022. His work focuses on quantum foundations and applications, including quantum teleportation, entanglement, and quantum cryptography. Zeilinger holds honorary doctorates from Gdańsk and Humboldt Universities, and has received the Nobel Prize in Physics (2022), Wolf Prize (2010), and numerous other accolades. His research spans quantum optics, atom interferometry, and the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. Education: PhD in Physics, University of Vienna (1971) Habilitation, Technical University of Vienna (1979) Research interests include testing quantum mechanics fundamentals, quantum nonlocality, and developing quantum technologies. His experiments on entangled photons and Bell inequality violations pioneered quantum information science. He has advised numerous researchers and holds leadership roles in global scientific institutions. Zeilinger’s labs are at the forefront of quantum communication and computing, with contributions to quantum teleportation and decoherence studies.
Alexey Ignatiev is an Associate Professor in the Optimisation research group at Monash University's Faculty of Information Technology. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher and researcher at the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Sciences, focusing on SAT/SMT-based decision procedures. He holds a Ph.D. from the Matrosov Institute for System Dynamics and Control Theory (Russian Academy of Sciences), where his thesis explored parallel CDCL-BDD integration. His research emphasizes formal methods in AI, including explainable AI (XAI), SAT-based reasoning, and optimization for applications like software upgradability, model-based diagnosis, and fault localization. His work spans over 100 publications, with notable contributions to MaxSAT solving (RC2 solver), neuro-symbolic frameworks (NEUSIS), and rigorous explanations for machine learning models. He has collaborated extensively with institutions like the University of Lisbon and Monash University, contributing to advancements in formal verification and interpretable machine learning.
