Traditional public-key cryptography algorithms are considered broken when a large-scale quantum computer is successfully realized. Consequently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA has launched an initiative to develop and standardize new Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms, aiming to replace established public-key mechanisms. However, the adoption of PQC algorithms in Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded systems poses several implementation challenges, including performance degradation and security concerns arising from the potential susceptibility to physical Side-Channel Attacks (SCAs).
The idea of this Ph.D. project is to explore the modularity, extensibility and customizability of the open-source RISC-V ISA with the goal of proposing innovative, secure and efficient SW/HW implementations of PQC algorithms. One of the main challenge related to the execution of PQC algorithms on embedded processors is to achieve good performance (i.e. low latency and high throughput) and energy efficiency while incorporating countermeasures against physical SCAs. In the first phase, the Ph.D. candidate will review the State-Of-the-Art (SoA) with the objective of understanding weaknesses and attack points of PQC algorithms, the effectiveness and overhead of SoA countermeasures, and SoA acceleration strategies. In the second phase, the candidate will implement new solutions by exploiting all degrees of freedom offered by the RISC-V architecture and characterize the obtained results in terms of area overhead, execution time and resistance against SCAs.
Beyond the exciting scientific challenges, this PhD will take place in Grenoble, a picturesque city nestled in the French Alps. The research will be conducted at the CEA, in LETI and LIST institutes, and in collaboration with the TIMA laboratory.