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Latest Cryptography & Security News

Headlines pulled automatically from NIST, IACR, and trusted security news outlets, refreshed every few hours. Titles and excerpts only — click through to read the full story at the original source.

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Blockchain-Anchored Proactive Refresh for Dynamic Threshold Services

A long-lived threshold service must issue shares to participants that join after deployment, refresh them against a mobile adversary, and allow participants offline during a refresh to recover missed updates. We show that charging exposure solely to committed epochs is fundamentally insufficient: an aborted refresh attempt that publishes candidate update tokens can reveal the secret even if no co…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
A note on zero-knowledge ring switching

We make the ring-switching technique of Diamond and Posen zero knowledge, resolving a problem left open in the literature. Over $\mathbb{F}_{2^n}$, our technique uses $n-1$ auxiliary masks and $n-1$ quadratic constraints, checked in zero knowledge by the underlying commitment scheme.

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Correlation Power Analysis on SHA-2-Based SLH-DSA

The stateless hash-based digital signature algorithm (SLH-DSA) repeatedly processes a fixed secret seed with varying public addresses. This paper presents non-profiled correlation power analysis of the address-based pseudorandom function for all six SHA-2 parameter sets, using separate recovery paths through SHA-256 compression rounds and message-schedule expansion. The procedures account for the…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
An efficient Failure Probability Estimator for LWE-based encryption, and application to IBE

In recent years, lattice-based cryptography has proven to be a source of post-quantum cryptosystems. In particular, the blueprint of Learning With Errors (LWE) encryption enabled the creation of Kyber, chosen by NIST to be standardized as ML-KEM. Because of the structure of LWE encryption, the decryption of a ciphertext can give an incorrect plaintext. This event (a decryption failure) happens ra…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Information Loss Is All You Need: TC⁰ Pseudorandomness from Worst-Case Lattices

Pseudorandomness plays a central role in algorithms, complexity theory, and cryptography. We ask whether deterministic information loss alone can yield post-quantum pseudorandomness with $\mathrm{TC}^0$ evaluation. Learning with errors (LWE) hides linear measurements with random noise. Learning with rounding (LWR) replaces noise with deterministic rounding, but a standard polynomial-modulus hardn…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Practical Optimal Bucket Sets with Power-of-Two Radices for LFG-Based MSM Algorithms

Fixed point multi-scalar multiplication (MSM) is a major computational component of pairing-based SNARK proof generation. The Luo--Fu--Gong (LFG) framework is a variant of Pippenger's bucket method that uses a multiplier set $M$ and precomputed point multiples to reduce the number of buckets and online point additions. For radix $q$ and a positive multiplier set $M$, covering all digit residues r…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Shielded Bitcoin: Private Transfers on the Bitcoin L1

This paper introduces Shielded Bitcoin, a protocol for private transfer of Bitcoin directly on the Bitcoin L1, requiring no changes to Bitcoin consensus. Its design borrows from the architecture of Zcash and earlier shielded-note systems: value is held as encrypted notes, spends are marked by public nullifiers, and validity is established by zero-knowledge proofs. Unlike Zcash, Shielded Bitcoin i…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
TFNP in the Random Oracle Model

We determine which major TFNP classes are hard in the random oracle model (ROM). Prior work establishes average-case hardness of highly structured subclasses of TFNP from strong cryptographic assumptions such as LWE and indistinguishability obfuscation. It is not known whether weaker assumptions such as one-way functions imply hardness of any of the standard TFNP subclasses, even in the worst cas…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
MODDIV-WC: Unit-Anchored Toeplitz/Hankel Rounding with Exact Binary-LWE Masking and an IND-CCA Security Route

\begin{abstract} We present MODDIV-WC, a public-key encryption and key-encapsulation candidate based on a widened Hankel linear map followed by deterministic integer division, together with an implicit-rejection Fujisaki--Okamoto wrapper, MODDIV-WC-FO. The construction uses a secret vector whose first coordinate is fixed to one and whose remaining coordinates are sampled from a positive interval.…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Differential Cryptanalysis of SPEEDY: Revised Security Evaluation and Improved Key Recovery Attack

The resistance of a block cipher against differential cryptanalysis (DC) is a fundamental criterion for evaluating its security. SPEEDY is a family of low-latency SPS-type block ciphers designed by Leander et al. The designers presented two evaluations of SPEEDY against DC: the first restricted 1-bit-to-1-bit differential propagations through the S-box and used the higher-order branch numbers to …

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
The Price of Agreement in Secure Multiparty Computation

Secure multi-party computation (MPC) cannot guarantee output delivery, in general, in the dishonest-majority setting. Security of MPC is therefore relaxed to security with abort, where the adversary may prevent honest parties from obtaining their output. The standard notion of \emph{unanimous abort} (UA-MPC) ensures that either all honest parties obtain their output or all of them abort. Goldwass…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Phantom Timing Leaks on Cortex-M4: A Pre-registered Evaluation of ML-KEM Decapsulation

Fixed-versus-random timing tests in the style of dudect are a cheap first check of constant-time behaviour, and on microcontrollers the cycle counter makes them exact to the cycle. We report a pre-registered evaluation of ML-KEM decapsulation on an STM32F411 (Cortex-M4) covering nine implementations of PQM4 (clean, m4fspeed, m4fstack for ML-KEM-512/768/1024) and a positive control in which we res…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Challenge Binding in FRESCO SPDZ2k: A Message-Level Case Study

FRESCO's SPDZ2k suite derives its batched MAC-check coefficients from a setup-time public seed, making the stream predictable before opening shares are sent. We examine this implementation path at a pinned revision. A source-level derivation accounts for low-limb carries and high-bit corrections and shows that the value-share shifts $e=(r_j,-r_i)$ preserve the check residual while retaining the o…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Differentially $2^t$-uniform quadrinomials with high nonlinearity

In this paper, we discuss some cryptographic properties of a family of quadrinomials constructed as a generalization of a known family of APN quadrinomials. In particular, we show that this family produces differentially $2^t$-uniform quadrinomials with the same Walsh spectrum as the Gold power function $x^{2^t+1}$ over $\mathbb{F}_{2^n}$. We also discuss whether this family provides permutations.

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Leakage-Resilient Computation via Matrix Refreshing

Leakage-resilient cryptography protects secrets against side-channel attacks, in which a physical implementation reveals partial information about its internal state. A fundamental primitive in this area is a leakage-resilient storage, which allows a secret to be stored in a way that remains secure even if an adversary learns some information about the storage's internal state. A popular approach…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Dual Coppersmith: Finding Small Roots Without Multivariate Polynomial Systems

The multivariate Coppersmith algorithm is a central tool in public-key cryptanalysis for finding a small hidden root of modular polynomial equations. It consists of two stages. First, a lattice-reduction (LR) stage constructs auxiliary equations satisfied by the hidden root over $\mathbb Z$. Second, a root-recovery (RR) stage solves these equations. The RR stage can be a bottleneck: auxiliary pol…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Archive Certificates for ML-DSA-87 Authorizations from an Exact Bounded Relation

A blockchain that signs every transaction with FIPS 204 ML-DSA-87 keeps 4,627 bytes of signature per transaction forever. We describe and measure an archive certificate: one hash-based proof, for a range of already validated blocks, of knowledge of canonical FIPS 204 signatures on exactly the recorded messages under the keys resolved from chain state. Fresh blocks keep native verification. The co…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Leakage-Tolerant Computation without Leakage-Free Setup

Leakage-tolerant multi-party computation (MPC) ensures that leakage from each honest party’s internal state reveals no more than the leakage from honest parties' individual inputs and outputs, beyond the standard security guarantee of MPC. Previous constructions either require a leakage-free preprocessing, or rely on indistinguishability obfuscation in the common reference string (CRS) model and …

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
The Fairest of Them All: Best-of-Both-Worlds Fair Leader Election

Fair leader election is the problem of sampling an unbiased random party out of a set of $n$ parties. The seminal impossibility result of Cleve (STOC 1986) applies to this setting, and shows that the result of the election cannot be unbiased against a dishonest majority. Recent work has achieved the weaker property of game-theoretic fairness, where behaving dishonestly cannot improve one’s chance…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
PS-BKZ: Decoupling Outer Propagation and Local Processing in BKZ by Parameter Separation

This work provides a systematic study of parameter separation in Block Korkine–Zolotarev (BKZ) reduction. We propose a general framework with separate parameters for outer propagation and the dominant local computation. The framework covers the local parameter settings of standard BKZ and variants using extended preprocessing, dimensions for free, or progressive sieving, with corresponding adapta…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Perseus: A Full-Stack System for Homomorphic Model Inference

Large Language Models (LLMs) have made it exceptionally convenient for users to send their private data to model providers, which process them in plaintext. Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) promises to secure remote inference by computing directly on encrypted data, yet it has remained prohibitively slow. The effort to make it practical remains fragmented, with most existing frameworks being cl…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Finite-Batch q-ary OT Extension for High-Arity Private Lookup: Certified Radix--Code Co-Design

High-arity oblivious transfer is a natural abstraction for private lookup: a $\delta$-bit table address selects one entry out of $2^\delta$ candidates. This paper characterizes the finite-batch design space of the CCG q-ary OT-extension family and derives certified radix-selection rules. For $q=2^r$, we formulate radix-code selection as a security-constrained discrete optimization problem that ac…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Cryptanalysis of MinRank 2.0

MinRank is an NP-complete problem underlying the security of several post-quantum schemes. It is the hardness assumption of the NIST second-round signature candidate Mirath and of the encryption schemes of Chatterjee et al.\ and Debris-Alazard et al.\ at Eurocrypt 2026. Moreover, it is ubiquitous in the cryptanalysis of multivariate schemes, among them the third-round candidates UOV, MAYO, QR-UOV…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
MuCPay: Breaking the Quadratic Bottleneck in Scriptless Multi-Party Oracle-Based Conditional Payments

Oracle-based conditional payments triggered by real-world events support decentralized finance applications. However, dense independent bilateral deployments require $\Theta(Nn^2)$ outcome authorizations and $\Theta(n^2)$ settlement signatures for $n$ parties and $N$ outcomes. To go beyond two-party settings, we propose MuCPay, a multi-party oracle-based conditional payment protocol combining (i)…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
FixSampZ: A Fixed-Point Hardware-Efficient Discrete Gaussian Sampler for Falcon Signatures

Falcon, a NIST-standardized post-quantum signature algorithm, offers compact signatures but relies on hardware-intensive floating-point arithmetic. Building on recent theoretical fixed-point formulations, we present a completely floating-point-free hardware architecture for SamplerZ, Falcon’s primary signing bottleneck. By utilizing zero-cost hardware bit-sliced retagging of fixed-point data, whi…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Kaiburr: ML-KEM at (much) higher security

With deployment of standardized post-quantum cryptography well on the way, discussions continue about concrete choices of schemes and parameter sets. For example, while NIST standardized structured-lattice-based ML-KEM, European agencies like BSI and ANSSI favor unstructured-lattice-based FrodoKEM. Another discussion revolves around different approaches to hybrid deployments – either combining po…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 3, 2026
Quotienting Redundant Tables: Practical Master-Key Recovery from WBSLT White-Box AES

Enlarging lookup-table addresses does not hide smaller selectors when the complete public table factors through a core with distinct rows and distinct columns. We demonstrate this condition in WBSLT, a white-box AES design presented at NDSS 2026 that reports resistance to several structural attacks. In the released general generator, the joint output of each group of four first-round TypeII table…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Tight Depth Lower Bounds for Stretch Amplification

We investigate the depth overhead of stretch-amplification for pseudorandom generators in the black-box model. We show that any black box construction of a PRG $H: \{0,1\}^m \to \{0,1\}^M$ which makes $\mathrm{poly}(n)$ queries to a PRG $G: \{0,1\}^n \to \{0,1\}^N$ in $d$ adaptive phases during each evaluation (and with a black-box reduction to the security of $G$) must satisfy: $M \leq (m + O(\l…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
On the (Quantum) Communication Complexity of Secure MPC from a Random Oracle

Information-theoretic MPC among $n$ parties with $t$ corruptions can securely evaluate a circuit $C$ with $O(|C| \cdot t/(n-t))$ online communication in the preprocessing model and $O(|C| \cdot t/(n-2t))$ communication in the honest majority setting. Damg{\aa}rd, Larsen and Nielsen (CRYPTO 2019) showed that both communication bounds are tight for inner products. Fully homomorphic encryption and o…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Efficient Polynomial Multiplier Architectures for ML-KEM on Resource-Constrained FPGAs

The Number Theoretic Transform (NTT) is a key component of polynomial multiplication in Kyber, making its efficient hardware implementation essential for post-quantum cryptographic applications. This paper presents two hardware architectures for Kyber polynomial arithmetic, supporting the NTT, inverse NTT (INTT) and point-wise multiplication (PWM) operations. The first architecture employs a sing…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Complete Addition Law for Twisted Edwards Curves

We construct complete addition laws in extended coordinates for twisted Edwards curves \(E_{a,d}:ax^2+y^2=1+dx^2y^2\), where \(a,d\in K^\times\), \(a\ne d\), and \(\operatorname{char}K\ne2\). If \(t\in K\) makes \((t^2-a)(t^2-d)\) a nonzero nonsquare, the construction yields a \(K\)-complete formula valid for every pair of \(K\)-rational points. The proof describes the exceptional fibres through …

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Complete Addition on Short Weierstrass Curves with Point-Free Lines

Let $E_{a,b}:Y^2Z=X^3+aXZ^2+bZ^3$ be a nonsingular short-Weierstrass curve over a field $K$ of characteristic different from $2$ and $3$. A nonvertical line $Y=mX+nZ$ has no $K$-rational point on the curve if and only if $x^3-m^2x^2+(a-2mn)x+b-n^2$ is rootless in $K$. We give coordinate changes and formulas for the corresponding $K$-complete Bosma--Lenstra addition law. An incidence count proves …

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Distill and Conquer: Cryptanalytic Extraction of Local Rules in the Hard-Label Setting

Cryptanalytic extraction can expose proprietary neural network parameters, but unknown architectures and large parameter counts complicate recovery under hard-label access. Local class-pair rules offer a narrower target by making class-switching conditions explicit and predicting nearby labels under a specified sampling law. Distillation methods mainly return substitute models rather than explici…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Normal-Jet Masking: A Retraining-Free Defense Against Cryptanalytic Extraction of Neural Networks

Cryptanalytic extraction (CEA) of piecewise-linear neural networks recovers hidden signatures and parameters by locating critical points or hard-label dual points that expose off-manifold geometry. Proposed mitigation methods include query monitoring, output perturbation, ownership verification, and extraction-aware training. Train to Defend (TTD) directly addresses CEA through extraction-aware t…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Authenticated Outsourced Incrementally Verifiable MPC

Many privacy-preserving applications such as iterative machine learning training require executing ongoing computations over a secret state for long periods of time. While MPC enables secure computation, long-lived secret state is vulnerable to adaptive corruptions, requiring periodic share refreshes and committee rotation. In many settings, it is desirable for external parties to be able to veri…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 2, 2026
Unique Signature Schemes with Tight Security in the Random Oracle Model via Hash-and-Subset-Sign

Unique signatures are digital signature schemes, where each message has exactly one valid signature. The uniqueness property typically comes at a price: Most unique signature schemes are known to have a security loss at least linear in the number of signature queries when aiming for existential unforgeability under chosen message attacks (EUF-CMA) security, which was shown to be inherent in the s…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 1, 2026
Construction and Classification of Minimum-Latency 5-Bit APN S-Boxes

S-boxes serve as essential nonlinear building blocks in symmetric-key cryptography, where their cryptographic properties and hardware implementation costs jointly dictate the security and efficiency of lightweight primitives. This paper studies the construction and classification of minimum-latency 5-bit APN (Almost Perfect Nonlinear) permutations under a prescribed gate-delay model, using exact …

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 1, 2026
Revisiting Accountability in Accountable Tracing Signatures

Accountable tracing signatures (ATS), introduced by Kohlweiss and Miers (PoPETs 2015), classify each group member (user) as either traceable or non-traceable. A traceable user corresponds to one in conventional group signature schemes whose identity can be revealed by the opener from a signature, whereas a non-traceable user cannot be identified from any signature they produce. The opener, who is…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 1, 2026
Verifiable Data on Bitcoin: FlatMerkle Commitments, Refutable Proofs, and FlatChecks

We give a method to publish data on Bitcoin and to verify properties of that data on Bitcoin itself, against a publisher who may lie. The data is a FlatMerkle file – a structured byte string whose ordinary SHA-256 supports logarithmic inclusion proofs and logarithmic proofs of malformation – placed in a transaction's annex or, at four times the cost but relayable by Bitcoin Core, in an output. We…

Research IACR ePrint Archive · Nov 1, 2026
Key Recovery Against RLCE via the GIJS Distinguisher

We present an experimental cryptanalysis of the RLCE cryptosystem at the heretofore secure $w=n-k$ parameter regime. Our attack relies crucially on the recent Ghoshal--Ishai--Jain--Sun (GIJS) distinguisher The attack shortens the public key at random positions, runs the GIJS distinguisher with \emph{every} column as hold-out, and uses this distinguisher to identify twin pairs based on how they ap…