TU/e, Academia Sinica, Chelpis Collaboration: Pioneering Post-Quantum Cryptography
With powerful quantum computers unveiling new attack technologies, researchers from the Netherlands and Taiwan have teamed up for nearly 20 years to combat threats to our online information. This collaborative effort involves experts from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands, along with their Taiwanese counterparts from Academia Sinica and Chelpis. Together, they make our online world more secure working on post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This collaboration aims to prepare against the swift developments in quantum computing attacks, by enhancing digital security.
Reasons for Collaboration
This collaboration dates back to 2006, a time when only a few researchers possessed the expertise and knowledge required for PQC. Notably, Professor Bo-Yin Yang at Academia Sinica, one of the leading academic research institutions in Taiwan focusing on a wide range of scientific disciplines, and Professor Tanja Lange at TU/e, a Dutch university renowned for its excellence in research and innovation in various engineering fields, spearheaded efforts in advancing PQC methodologies.
The collaboration aims to supplement well-established cryptographic systems, which have served as the backbone of computer security for over 30 years. However, their stability is now threatened by advancements in quantum computing. Cryptography relies on the difficulty of solving complex mathematical problems that are challenging for traditional computers to break. Quantum computers, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, can break some of these problems much faster.
Chelpis QSMC and Academia Sinica discuss collaboration on post-quantum cryptography. From left to right are:
Associate Research Fellow of Academia Sinica, Ruben Niederhagen
Assistant Research Fellow of Academia Sinica, Tung Chou
Research Fellow of Academia Sinica, Bo-Yin Yang
CEO of Chelpis QSMC, Ming Chih
Long-Term Achievements
For nearly two decades, this collaboration has covered many research areas in cryptology, including the design, analysis, and implementation of new systems. It also promotes the exchange of knowledge at various levels, from master’s students to professors and industry experts.
Industrially, the collaboration has significantly influenced the cryptography landscape. The jointly developed Ed25519 system, designed in 2011, is now a NIST and IETF standard, utilized in browsers and popular apps like Signal. Recent work has led to one almost finalized NIST standard (SPHINCS+) and two cryptosystems actively deployed, Classic McEliece and NTRU Prime. Classic McEliece is in the process of being standardized by ISO.
On the academic front, the collaboration has yielded numerous scientific publications, jointly organized conferences, summer schools, short-term visits, and six long-term researcher exchanges, resulting in two Dutch PhD graduates securing permanent positions in Taiwan. Additionally, it has produced efficient software packages for cryptographic systems and contributed to the analysis of real-world cryptography deployment.
Governments also recognize the collaboration's impact. Taiwan’s Executive Yuan identified PQC as a critical tech field in its National Core and Key Technology Review Conference (NKTRC) in November 2023. This acknowledgment underscores the importance of PQC in ensuring national security and industrial competitiveness. In the Netherlands, groups at TU/e, Radboud University, and Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) contribute to PQC research, while Quantum Delta NL designating it as a key research area. Governments from the Netherlands and Taiwan actively support global attention on PQC, emphasizing the need for a critical mass of researchers for significant advancements.
These achievements have garnered international recognition and positively influenced the cryptography and information security industries, fostering the creation of the Chelpis Quantum Safe Migration Center (QSMC).
Establishment of QSMC
In August 2023, Chelpis, a leading company specializing in Quantum security, zero-trust architecture, and end-to-end encryption, inaugurated the QSMC in Taiwan. This center is dedicated to advancing research and practical applications in post-quantum cryptography, serving as a collaborative hub for researchers from Taiwan and the Netherlands. The goal is to foster the global knowledge exchange and drive the real-world implementation of PQC technology.
QSMC offers a comprehensive enterprise quantum-safe solution, including risk assessment, algorithm inventory, upgrade planning strategies, solution implementation, and ongoing maintenance. This approach ensures the protection of corporate information against potential quantum threats, propelling organizations into the era of quantum security. Concurrently, through active collaboration with academic institutions and research organizations, QSMC remains engaged in the ongoing international development and research of PQC algorithms.
Despite being newly established, QSMC has already hosted several PQC events, focusing on knowledge building and sharing insights into Quantum-Safe Migration. These events also provide practical skills for acquiring migration strategies and techniques applicable to various organizations or projects.
Eindhoven University of Technology, Radboud University, and Chelpis QSMC jointly participated in the Netherlands Innovation Network (NIN) Parade, showcasing the collaboration between the Netherlands and Taiwan in Post-Quantum Cryptography on 31th October, 2023. From left to right are:
Full professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, Tanja Lange
Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands, Micky Adriaansens
CEO of Chelpis QSMC, Ming-Yang Chih
Interesting Stories During the Collaboration
The collaboration between researchers from the Netherlands and Taiwan created unique and interesting stories, adding intriguing chapters to their shared history.
In one remarkable tale, Matthias Kannwischer initially visited Academia Sinica in Taiwan for a six-week research visit, but found himself stranded due to COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns. His unintentionally extended stay evolved into a fruitful collaboration and now, four years later, he remains in Taiwan, actively contributing to PQC research as part of QSMC.
In another fascinating twist of fate, Ming-Yang Chih and Tung Chou, former labmates at National Taiwan University (NTU) from 2008-2010, reconnected after 11 years! Back then, Ming and Tung, were labmates in NTU's Fast Crypto Lab under the supervision of Dr. Chen-Mou Cheng and Bo-Yin Yang. Post-graduation, they diverged—Ming into entrepreneurship and Tung pursuing a Ph.D. in the Netherlands, followed by research in Japan. Fast forward 10 years, Tung returned to Academia Sinica for research, unexpectedly reuniting him with Ming. Adding to this story, Ruben Niederhagen was in the same NTU lab during his first visit to Taiwan in 2009. Meeting Ming and Tung, he collaborated on research projects during his Ph.D studies at TU/e in 2010 and 2011, shuttling between the Netherlands (TU/e) and Taiwan (NTU/Academia Sinica). Later, Tung and Ruben crossed paths during Ruben's postdoc at Academia Sinica, and again when Tung pursued his Ph.D. at TU/e while Ruben was a post-doc there. Today, they are colleagues at Academia Sinica!
Their PhD supervisor from TU/e, Tanja Lange, is currently spending the spring term as a visiting researcher at Academia Sinica, working with the Taiwanese researchers and in particular continuing the long-term collaboration with Yang with which all this began.
Chelpis QSMC and Prof. Tanja Lange presented a post-quantum cryptography development plan to the Executive Yuan in Taiwan. From left to right are:
Director of Chelpis QSMC, Matthias J. Kannwischer
Full professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, Tanja Lange
CEO of Chelpis QSMC, Ming Chih
Deputy CEO of Chelpis QSMC, Jason Lu
Looking Ahead
Moving forward, this continuous collaboration is entering a new phase as PQC gains wide-spread adoption, demanding the creation of effective and secure systems for novel applications. The upcoming large-scale deployment of PQC brings new challenges, especially in mitigating security issues arising from potential flaws in cryptographic setups. The combined focus of TU/e, Academia Sinica, and Chelpis is on research and development to enable a safe transition to systems that also resist attacks with quantum computers.
Overall, the lasting partnership between TU/e, Academia Sinica, and Chelpis shows the potential for significant progress and impactful contributions. Sustaining this long-term partnership across multiple generations of researchers is the key to making a lasting difference in the world.
Join us in shaping the future of digital security. Contact:
Contact Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) at
Contact Academia Sinica (AS) at
homepage.iis.sinica.edu.tw/pages/ruben/
Contact Chelpis QSMC at
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