Efficient and Secure Word-Based Stream Ciphers for Wireless Communications. Wireless networks are increasingly being used for communication, and to manage and control Australia's critical infrastructure. However, current methods of securing wireless networks are flawed, putting the country's economy, environment, and citizens at risk. The most reliable method for protecting wireless communications requires secure and efficient encryption algorithms. However, flaws have been found in most algo ....Efficient and Secure Word-Based Stream Ciphers for Wireless Communications. Wireless networks are increasingly being used for communication, and to manage and control Australia's critical infrastructure. However, current methods of securing wireless networks are flawed, putting the country's economy, environment, and citizens at risk. The most reliable method for protecting wireless communications requires secure and efficient encryption algorithms. However, flaws have been found in most algorithms proposed to date. This project will examine existing algorithms and attacks to determine design criteria for secure encryption algorithms for use in a wireless environment. An algorithm which meets these criteria and can be implemented efficiently in hardware and software will be proposed.Read moreRead less
Cryptographic Protocols: Proofs and Designs. Cryptographic protocols are the foundation for protection of the critical electronic communications infrastructure on which much of commerce and industry rely. They will increasingly be required in emerging technologies such as ad-hoc wireless networks and sensor networks. This project will provide the ability to design new and efficient protocols with a mathematical guarantee of security. The resulting practical protocols will benefit all users of el ....Cryptographic Protocols: Proofs and Designs. Cryptographic protocols are the foundation for protection of the critical electronic communications infrastructure on which much of commerce and industry rely. They will increasingly be required in emerging technologies such as ad-hoc wireless networks and sensor networks. This project will provide the ability to design new and efficient protocols with a mathematical guarantee of security. The resulting practical protocols will benefit all users of electronic communications who require security for their information. This includes the financial industries, government, commerce and domestic users.Read moreRead less
Cryptographic Protocols from Pairings: Proofs and Designs. Modern society has become critically dependent on information and communications infrastructures. At the same time, the development of e-commerce is being slowed by lack of confidence in its security. By providing increased assurance and enhanced cryptographic security protocols this research will improve the dependability of the nation's information and communications infrastructure, as well as encourage the growth of e-commerce. Throu ....Cryptographic Protocols from Pairings: Proofs and Designs. Modern society has become critically dependent on information and communications infrastructures. At the same time, the development of e-commerce is being slowed by lack of confidence in its security. By providing increased assurance and enhanced cryptographic security protocols this research will improve the dependability of the nation's information and communications infrastructure, as well as encourage the growth of e-commerce. Through the expertise and experience gained with this project, Australia's excellence in information security research will be reinforced. The training of PhD and Honours students will provide a much needed source of highly trained information security professionals.Read moreRead less
Algebraic Models of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of a prime concern. Stream ciphers are a natural choice in mobile environments as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We treat stream ciphers as algebraic objects whose properties fully determine their cryptographic strength. We first analyse existing stream ciphers showing their algebraic ....Algebraic Models of Stream Ciphers. The project investigates communication security in the mobile environment where both confidentiality and authenticity are of a prime concern. Stream ciphers are a natural choice in mobile environments as they provide an efficient cryptographic protection using a limited computing resources. We treat stream ciphers as algebraic objects whose properties fully determine their cryptographic strength. We first analyse existing stream ciphers showing their algebraic properties and later we derive a design methodology for provably secure stream ciphers. The project leads to new secure and efficient designs for stream ciphers that are the preferred cryptographic tools used in Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Algebraic Analysis of Cryptosystems. This project studies an (new) algebraic approach to cryptanalysis of modern block ciphers. The approach works for all cryptosystems that use either small S-boxes, or their algebraic structure can be described by a system of overdefined quadratic equations. The cryptosystems that are potentially breakable using this approach are Rijndael and Serpent - the two top finalists of the Advanced Encryption Standard contest. The project also explores how this approach ....Algebraic Analysis of Cryptosystems. This project studies an (new) algebraic approach to cryptanalysis of modern block ciphers. The approach works for all cryptosystems that use either small S-boxes, or their algebraic structure can be described by a system of overdefined quadratic equations. The cryptosystems that are potentially breakable using this approach are Rijndael and Serpent - the two top finalists of the Advanced Encryption Standard contest. The project also explores how this approach can be applied to design new and more powerful factoring algorithms. The project has an explosive potential to redefine the theory and practice of modern cryptography.Read moreRead less
Security Services for Stream-Oriented and Multicast-Based Communication. Multicast communication over lossy networks is becoming the basic for a growing number of aplications. It is therefore critical to provide sound security mechanisms for multicast communication. Yet, existing security protocols for multicast offer only partial solutions. This project is concerned with two major security problems of multicast communications: authentication and secrecy. The goal of this project is to: (1) deve ....Security Services for Stream-Oriented and Multicast-Based Communication. Multicast communication over lossy networks is becoming the basic for a growing number of aplications. It is therefore critical to provide sound security mechanisms for multicast communication. Yet, existing security protocols for multicast offer only partial solutions. This project is concerned with two major security problems of multicast communications: authentication and secrecy. The goal of this project is to: (1) develop a framework for analysis and evaluation of security services for multicast communication; (2) design efficient algorithms and protocols for securing emerging applications that are multicast-based and/or stream-oriented.
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Non-Parametric Modelling of Motion and Depth fields with Boundary Geometry for Scalable Compression and Dissemination. Applications for large format video surveillance are about to grow rapidly, starting with military applications and then moving into the civilian arena, highlighting the importance of compression for interactive dissemination, so as to make best use of limited communication channels. This project will develop an innovative representation for motion and depth/elevation maps, whi ....Non-Parametric Modelling of Motion and Depth fields with Boundary Geometry for Scalable Compression and Dissemination. Applications for large format video surveillance are about to grow rapidly, starting with military applications and then moving into the civilian arena, highlighting the importance of compression for interactive dissemination, so as to make best use of limited communication channels. This project will develop an innovative representation for motion and depth/elevation maps, which addresses a key obstacle in the deployment of technology for efficient interactive access to large format video and geospatial imagery. These applications are relevant to Australia's defence and infrastructure for smart information use. Moreover, this is a strategic proposal to strengthen Australia's existing lead in aspects of interactive media dissemination.Read moreRead less
Private Information Retrieval. The deliverables of this project will enhance information protection which is essential for rapidly expanding e-commerce applications and network communication. It will maintain and strengthen national capability of protecting the confidential integrity of digital systems and the network infrastructure in Australia. It will contribute to maintaining Australia's leading position in telecommunications and information industries. It will enhance the quality of our ....Private Information Retrieval. The deliverables of this project will enhance information protection which is essential for rapidly expanding e-commerce applications and network communication. It will maintain and strengthen national capability of protecting the confidential integrity of digital systems and the network infrastructure in Australia. It will contribute to maintaining Australia's leading position in telecommunications and information industries. It will enhance the quality of our culture by protecting individual's privacy and providing security for sensitive data. Read moreRead less
Security for Wireless Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Mobile ad hoc networks, a new emerging wireless networking paradigm, poses challenging problems in security, due to its dynamic nature and lack of centralised infrastructure, for which no adequate solutions exist today. This research addresses theory and design of secure mobile ad hoc networks. It achieves conceptual advances in terms of new security models for distributed location management, mobile authentication and multicasting; it proposes nove ....Security for Wireless Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Mobile ad hoc networks, a new emerging wireless networking paradigm, poses challenging problems in security, due to its dynamic nature and lack of centralised infrastructure, for which no adequate solutions exist today. This research addresses theory and design of secure mobile ad hoc networks. It achieves conceptual advances in terms of new security models for distributed location management, mobile authentication and multicasting; it proposes novel dynamic group key management and denial of service protection schemes, develops new security mechanisms for ad hoc routing, provides new insights into formal reasoning of security and demonstrates and evaluates practical secure wireless mobile applications.Read moreRead less
Specifications, Proofs and Animations for Cryptographic Protocols. Cryptographic protocols are fundamental security tools for electronic communications. Despite years of intensive research it remains difficult to obtain high confidence in the security of almost any new protocol. Research in the computer security community has emphasised formal specifications and state based searching, while the cryptographic community has concentrated instead on complexity theoretic proofs. This project will un ....Specifications, Proofs and Animations for Cryptographic Protocols. Cryptographic protocols are fundamental security tools for electronic communications. Despite years of intensive research it remains difficult to obtain high confidence in the security of almost any new protocol. Research in the computer security community has emphasised formal specifications and state based searching, while the cryptographic community has concentrated instead on complexity theoretic proofs. This project will unify these two approaches for the first time by formally specifying and animating the very models used in cryptographic proofs. The result will be proofs that are uniquely accessible to practioners combined with increased confidence that the proofs are both correct and relevant.Read moreRead less