Projects archive

The goal of this project is to develop “certifiable” Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) protocols that ensure that data points consumed by the protocol are derived from accredited sources. SMPC protocols in current use for, e.g., sharing information between competing entities, do not usually verify that the private data input to the protocol is legitimate. The collaborative laboratory will tackle this problem by fundamentally reworking security models for such protocols, and analysing how developments in anonymous credentials and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) can be used to export trust to privacy-preserving computations.

Symmetric cryptography is finding new uses due of the emergence of novel and more complex computing environments, many of which are based on sophisticated Zero-Knowledge (ZK) and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) protocols. These new uses often call for dedicated symmetric algorithm designs, typically natively described over large finite fields of odd characteristic (rather than in binary fields). The COSINUS Associate Team will combine the expertises at COSMIQ-Inria and Simula UiB, to research and devise novel design and cryptanalytic techniques for this new breed of symmetric cryptography.

The AI Risk project studies future tools with general AI, called tool AIs. Tool AIs based on the human neocortex answer difficult questions. The tools are the basis for different types of intelligent devices. There are risks associated with the tools themselves and the answers they provide. The goal is to design neocortex-based tool AIs without existential risk to humanity and then describe systems of tool-based devices providing answers with acceptable non-existential risk to users and other stakeholders.

The project’s first part is described in two published papers Tutorial on systems with antifragility to downtime and A thousand brains: toward biologically constrained AI. The second part studies the properties tool AIs need to eliminate existential risk and how to create tool-based antifragile systems with acceptable non-existential risk. The project’s third part explores other risks users face when using tool-based personal assistants.

The project will explore advanced compression techniques of high bandwidth analogue signals for this scenario. The focus is to design and implement a bidirectional wideband RF over IP module with the target to support bandwidths up to 5 GHz. The targeted use-case scenarios are bi-directional VSAT communication and downlink from earth observation satellites. A main challenge in the project is the design and implementation of efficient compression algorithms of high bandwidth analogue signals, like Rice-Golomb coding and more advanced compressed sensing techniques like Xampling.

A satellite network is the only cost efficient technology to collect data from, and control, remote sensors and other IoT devices, in order to protect and learn about resources all over the arctic land and ocean areas.  For example, such a network may provide low latency low data rate for underwater gliders that can cover large distances efficiently and occasionally surfaces to dump data and receive commands, or medium data rate communication for surface buoys that provide situational awareness both above and below the water. The main objective of the ALISA project is to design, develop and demonstrate frequency agnostic air interface for low power IoT messaging on the C/X, Ku, and Ka-bands for use on LEO, (MEO), HEO and (GEO) satellites. The project is a collaboration between Widenorth, Space Norway (Norsk Romsenter), NTNU, and Simula UiB. The role of Simula UiB is to design the error correcting codes for the air interface, and the security part of the communication system.

Since we know that future quantum computers will break much used cryptographic primitives and protocols, there is a need for new solutions. The project’s goal is to develop cryptographic primitives and protocols that resist attacks by quantum computers, and that realize trusted and secure communication in IoT ecosystems.

The term “distributed storage” denotes scalable and economically viable technology for storing humanity’s collective memory. It is unknown how to best design such distributed storage systems that are both robust against arbitrary failures, and secure against targeted attacks. The project addresses these issues through a theoretical approach guided by practical concerns.

The transition to cloud computing requires new security measures to protect valuable data no longer under the direct control of the owner. This joint project with NTNU studies cryptographic tools to protect data in the cloud against powerful attackers. The goals are to develop mechanisms to ensure the privacy of stored data and to allow secure computations with private data, without needing to trust the cloud provider.

LDPC codes have become a standard in wired and wireless communications, as well as in data storage. The principal reasons for the success of LDPC codes are their high resistance to noise and their efficient encoding and decoding algorithms. The goals of this project are to design more reliable codes, new decoding methods, and novel analytical tools to understand better the structure and performance of LDPC codes.