Post-Quantum Cryptography in Hardware and Embedded Systems
Major investments by national governments and high-tech companies have led to the first demonstrations of quantum supremacy, i.e., computations conducted by a quantum computer that no classical computer can perform in any feasible amount of time. The goal of this project is to support NIST and other standardization organizations in their efforts to develop a new generation of public-key cryptographic standards resistant to quantum computers. The desired features of these algorithms, collectively known as post-quantum cryptography (PQC), are that they can be implemented using traditional software and hardware but are resistant to all known attacks using both quantum and classical computers. We aim to set the foundation for the early, systematic, and comprehensive study of the hardware and embedded system efficiency and security of the algorithms already selected for standardization and the remaining candidates, such as the Round 2 Additional Digital Signature Schemes. The next 5-10 years are very likely to bring the biggest revolution in cryptography since the invention of public-key cryptography in the mid-1970s. This project has given us a unique opportunity to influence the choice of future cryptographic standards, which will likely be deployed within the next decade and remain in use for a significant portion (if not the rest) of the 21st century.
Welcome to the webpage of the Cryptographic Engineering Research Group at George Mason University. Cryptography, from Greek krpto (hidden) and grapho (write), is the science and practice of hiding information. Most Internet users come in contact with cryptography when they go to a secure website of an Internet retailer. Other popular applications are secure e-mail, Internet banking, mobile phones, etc. Cryptography has its roots in mathematics, computer science and engineering. Cryptographic Engineering is concerned with all aspects of implementing cryptographic algorithms in hardware and / or software. This ranges from high performance implementations to ultra-low power implementations of public key and secret key algorithms, fault tolerant implementations, attack resistant implementation and even implementations of attacks.
Latest News:
Ayomikun Akindahunsi defended his MS Thesis
Ayomikun A. Akindahunsi defended his Master's Thesis, titled "Efficient Implementation of the BFV Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme on Google TPUs," on July 29, 2026. The members of his dissertation committee included Dr. Gaj (Chair), Dr. Kaps, Dr. Khasawneh. (07/30/2026)
Kowsyap Pranay Kumar Musumuri defended his MS Thesis
Kowsyap Pranay Kumar Musumuri defended his Master's Thesis, titled "Reconfigurable High-Speed Hardware Accelerator for the MAYO Post-Quantum Signature Scheme," on July 29, 2026. The members of his dissertation committee included Dr. Gaj (Chair), Dr. Kaps, Dr. Pudukotai Dinakarrao. (07/30/2026)
Visit of Dr. Jiafeng (Harvest) Xie and Dr. Debapriya Basu Roy
On July 27, 2026, at the invitation of Dr. Gaj, the following two well-known researchers in the area of efficient and secure implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography visited GMU: Dr. Jiafeng (Harvest) Xie, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Villanova University, and Dr. Debapriya Basu Roy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. Dr. Xie gave a seminar titled "Hardware Acceleration for Post-Quantum Cryptography: Algorithmic Derivation and Architectural Innovation," followed by the talk by Dr. Basu Roy, titled "Hardware Implementation of a Stealthy and Lightweight Backdoor for CRYSTALS-Kyber in Hybrid Cryptosystems." The event included lunch attended by Dr. Xie, Dr. Basu Roy, Dr. Khasawneh, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Gaj. On the right is a photo of Dr. Gaj with the visitors. (07/28/2026)
Trip to the National Cryptologic Museum
On May 29, 2026, Dr. Gaj, Dr. Mark, and Mohammadreza Fasihi (President of the GMU IEEE Student Branch) organized a trip to the National Cryptologic Museum, located near the headquarters of the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, MD. The event was intended as a team-building and social event for members of the Center for Trusted, Accelerated, and Secure Computing and Communication (C-TASC) and the IEEE Student Branch at GMU. It included the guided tour of the museum and the group lunch in the nearby bakery. The event was attended by about 20 GMU participants. (05/30/2026)
Luke Beckwith received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award
During the ECE Departmental Awards Ceremony held on May 15, 2026, Luke Beckwith received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for the PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, granted to those students who have completed an outstanding PhD thesis and contributed to their field through excellence in research. (05/16/2026)
Luke Beckwith defended his Ph.D. Thesis
Luke Beckwith defended his Ph.D. Thesis, titled "Efficient and Secure Implementation of Post-Quantum Cryptography," on April 30, 2026. The members of his dissertation committee included Dr. Gaj (Chair), Dr. Kaps, Dr. Khasawneh, and Dr. Zhang. (05/01/2026)
Luke Beckwith defended his Ph.D. Thesis Proposal
Luke Beckwith defended his Ph.D. Thesis Proposal, titled "Efficient and Secure Implementation of Post-Quantum Cryptography," on December 16, 2025. The members of his dissertation committee included Dr. Gaj (Chair), Dr. Kaps, Dr. Khasawneh, and Dr. Zhang. (12/17/2025)
Kamyar Mohajerani defended his Ph.D. Thesis
Kamyar Mohajerani defended his Ph.D. Thesis, titled "Efficient and Secure Hardware Implementation of Cryptographic Algorithms," on July 31, 2025. The members of his dissertation committee included Dr. Gaj (Chair), Dr. Kaps, Dr. Manoj PD, and Dr. Zhang. (08/01/2025)
Dr. Gaj serves as a member of the Program Committees for LightSEC 2025, OPTIMIST 2025, DATE 2026, and CHES 2026
Dr. Gaj serves as a member of the Program Committees for the following conferences and workshops:
- LightSEC 2025: 6th International Workshop on Lightweight Cryptography for Security and Privacy, to be held on September 1-2, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey
- OPTIMIST Workshop 2025, to be held on September 14, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, co-located with CHES 2025
- DATE 2026: Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference (Topic A3 - Secure Systems, Circuits and Architectures), to be held on April 20-22, 2026, in Verona, Italy, and
- CHES 2026: 28th IACR Conference on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, to be held in Turkey, on October 11-15, 2026. The CHES 2026 PC is also the Editorial Board of Volume 2026 (Issues 1-4) of the IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (TCHES).
Multiple student members of CERG are contributing their time and expertise, serving as sub-reviewers for these conferences and workshops. (07/22/2025)
Dr. Gaj gave a seminar at the Polish National Institute of Telecommunications
On June 27, 2025, Dr. Gaj gave a hybrid seminar, titled "Basic Features and Hardware Implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography Digital Signature Schemes," at the Polish National Institute of Telecommunications (NIT) in Warsaw, Poland. The seminar was hosted by Dr. Elzbieta Andrukiewicz, Head of IT Security Evaluation Facility (ITSEF) at NIT. The talk was based on the joint work with Luke Beckwith, Robert Wallace, and Kowsyap Pranay Kumar Musumuri. The seminar was attended by the representatives of academia, governmental agencies, and trust service providers in Poland. (06/28/2025)
Dr. Gaj spoke at CryptArchi 2025
Dr. Gaj gave a talk titled "Hardware Implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography Digital Signature Schemes," at the 20th CryptArchi Workshop on Cryptographic Architectures Embedded in Logic Devices, held on June 15-18, 2025, in Autrans en Vercors, Grenoble, France. This talk was based on the joint work with Luke Beckwith, Robert Wallace, and Kowsyap Pranay Kumar Musumuri. (06/19/2025)
Luke Beckwith gave a talk at CBCrypto 2025
Luke Beckwith gave a talk titled "Towards Hardware Acceleration of LESS with Canonical Forms" at the International Workshop on Code-Based Cryptography, CBCrypto 2025, held in Madrid, Spain, on May 3-4, 2025. (05/05/2025)
Dr. Gaj spoke at FIPS 'n' Chips Crypto Module Bootcamp
Dr. Gaj will gave a talk titled "Implementing PQC in Hardware: Challenges and Rewards," at the FIPS 'n' Chips Crypto Module Bootcamp, organized by atsec information security, held at the University of Texas at Austin, on March 25, 2025. The full list of speakers and panelists of this event is available here. (03/26/2025)
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