Project description DEENESFRITPL Robust cryptographic protocols to tackle quantum attacks In cryptography, a zero-knowledge proof is a protocol in which one party (the prover) acknowledges the truth of a statement to another party (the verifier) without conveying any additional information. The EU-funded PLAZA project aims to create practical zero-knowledge proofs that can withstand quantum attacks. The project will use hard lattice problems, which are a very promising set of assumptions that can be leveraged to create the most efficient quantum-resistant encryption and digital signature schemes. The challenge will be to create more complex, yet practical, lattice-based schemes and construct more efficient zero-knowledge proofs. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective The world is on a seemingly irreversible path towards a more privacy-oriented and decentralized mode ofstoring and operating on data. A lot of this transformation is being enabled by advanced cryptography that’sdesigned to cut out the need for trusted third parties that we rely on today. The effect of this transformationis a more secure and, at the same time, a more efficient way of interaction in which the manual checks andaudits are instead embedded into the cryptographic protocols themselves. Another technological developmentthat’s on the horizon is a general-purpose quantum computer, whose utility comes from the fact that it willbe able to solve some problems considerably faster than a classical computer. Because of the multitude ofits positive scientific applications, building such a computer is being vigorously pursued by governments andprivate companies. The main negative consequence of quantum computing is that it breaks most of thecryptography that’s crucial to the privacy transformation.The main ingredient of privacy-centric cryptography is a zero-knowledge proof for showing knowledgeof an x satisfying f(x) = y without revealing anything else about x. The most compact zero-knowledgeproofs currently rely on the hardness of various mathematical assumptions which are no longer difficult inthe presence of quantum computers. The central objective of the PLAZA project will be to create practicalzero-knowledge proofs that can withstand quantum attacks by basing them on the hardness of lattice problems.Lattice problems are a very promising set of assumptions upon which to base cryptography and theyare currently being used to create the most efficient quantum-resistant encryption and signature schemes.Creating more complex, but still practical, lattice-based schemes has so far proved to be a major challengemostly due to the difficulty of constructing efficient zero-knowledge proofs – and this is the problem that theproject proposes to solve. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputer securitycryptographyengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcomputer hardwarequantum computers Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2020-COG - ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2020-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution IBM RESEARCH GMBH Net EU contribution € 1 999 510,00 Address SAEUMERSTRASSE 4 8803 Rueschlikon Switzerland See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 999 510,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all IBM RESEARCH GMBH Switzerland Net EU contribution € 1 999 510,00 Address SAEUMERSTRASSE 4 8803 Rueschlikon See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 999 510,00
