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In this CIDSE Invited Talk hosted by Rida Bazzi, Ahto Truu of Guardtime will discuss hash functions, which are less affected by the insecurities introduced with universal quantum computers.
Hash-based digital signatures for the post-quantum world
Presented by Ahto Truu, software architect, Guardtime
Thursday, January 23, 2020
11 a.m.
Brickyard (BYENG) 510, Tempe campus [map]
Abstract
All the digital signature schemes in wide use today (RSA, DSA, ECDSA) will become inherently insecure with the advent of universal quantum computers. Hash functions, on the other hand, are expected to be much less affected. In this talk we will discuss the BLT family of digital signature schemes built from hash functions and a supporting server component with blockchain-like properties. For two members of the family, the server support comes in the form of a hash-then- publish time-stamping service that can be viewed as the primordial blockchain from the 1990s. For the third one, the server infrastructure is more in line with modern blockchain architectures. We will cover the basic architecture of the schemes and compare their performance with major competitors (XMSS and SPHINCS), and touch on our latest research in machine-checked security proofs of BLT.
About the speaker
Ahto Truu is a software architect at Guardtime, a systems engineering and applied research company specializing in solutions based on blockchain technology. He holds an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Tartu (Estonia) and is currently completing a PhD at Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), researching cryptographic protocols and digital signature solutions based on hash functions. Previously he has worked as a research engineer at Tallinn University of Technology and as a software engineer and systems analyst for Aprote and WM-data (now part of the CGI group).
