Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. EPFL thesis
  4. LPN in Cryptography : an Algorithmic Study
 
doctoral thesis

LPN in Cryptography : an Algorithmic Study

Bogos, Sonia Mihaela  
2017

The security of public-key cryptography relies on well-studied hard problems, problems for which we do not have efficient algorithms. Factorization and discrete logarithm are the two most known and used hard problems. Unfortunately, they can be easily solved on a quantum computer by Shor's algorithm. Also, the research area of cryptography demands for crypto-diversity which says that we should offer a range of hard problems for public-key cryptography. If one hard problem proves to be easy, we should be able to provide alternative solutions. Some of the candidates for post-quantum hard problems, i.e. problems which are believed to be hard even on a quantum computer, are the Learning Parity with Noise (LPN), the Learning with Errors (LWE) and the Shortest Vector Problem (SVP). A thorough study of these problems is needed in order to assess their hardness. In this thesis we focus on the algorithmic study of LPN. LPN is a hard problem that is attractive, as it is believed to be post-quantum resistant and suitable for lightweight devices. In practice, it has been employed in several encryption schemes and authentication protocols. At the beginning of this thesis, we take a look at the existing LPN solving algorithms. We provide the theoretical analysis that assesses their complexity. We compare the theoretical results with practice by implementing these algorithms. We study the efficiency of all LPN solving algorithms which allow us to provide secure parameters that can be used in practice. We push further the state of the art by improving the existing algorithms with the help of two new frameworks. In the first framework, we split an LPN solving algorithm into atomic steps. We study their complexity, how they impact the other steps and we construct an algorithm that optimises their use. Given an LPN instance that is characterized by the noise level and the secret size, our algorithm provides the steps to follow in order to solve the instance with optimal complexity. In this way, we can assess if an LPN instance provides the security we require and we show what are the secure instances for the applications that rely on LPN. The second framework handles problems that can be decomposed into steps of equal complexity. Here, we assume that we have an adversary that has access to a finite or infinite number of instances of the same problem. The goal of the adversary is to succeed in just one instance as soon as possible. Our framework provides the strategy that achieves this. We characterize an LPN solving algorithm in this framework and show that we can improve its complexity in the scenario where the adversary is restricted. We show that other problems, like password guessing, can be modeled in the same framework.

  • Files
  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
doctoral thesis
DOI
10.5075/epfl-thesis-7800
Author(s)
Bogos, Sonia Mihaela  
Advisors
Vaudenay, Serge  
Jury

Prof. Ola Nils Anders Svensson (président) ; Prof. Serge Vaudenay (directeur de thèse) ; Prof. Arjen Lenstra, Prof. Willi Meier, Prof. Pierre-Alain Fouque (rapporteurs)

Date Issued

2017

Publisher

EPFL

Publisher place

Lausanne

Public defense year

2017-06-23

Thesis number

7800

Total of pages

177

Subjects

Learning Parity with Noise

•

LPN

•

algorithmic study

•

cryptography

•

Walsh Hadamard transform

•

BKW

•

Gaussian elimination

•

post-quantum cryptography

•

public-key cryptography

•

password quessing

EPFL units
LASEC  
Faculty
IC  
School
IINFCOM  
Doctoral School
EDIC  
Available on Infoscience
June 12, 2017
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/138264
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés