Christoph Striecks

I am a senior scientist specialising in secure communication and cryptography, with a focus on key exchange, encryption, data access control and authentication. Specifically, I have been involved in the development of quantum-safe hybrid cryptography techniques to create communication systems with long-term security (see my recent publications, talks, and current projects below for further details).
Moreover, I have been or am currently engaged in standardisation activities, including my past involvement in ETSI STF 529 on standardising Attribute-Based Encryption and my current involvement in ETSI STF 684 on standardising quantum-safe Hybrid Authenticated Key Exchange.
Prior to joining the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology — Austria’s largest research and technology organisation — in 2016, I held a postdoctoral position at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany.
In 2015, I received my PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in cryptography from KIT under the supervision of Prof. Dennis Hofheinz (now at ETH Zurich) on advanced cryptographic building blocks with strong security guarantees. Main teaching activities included Algorithms I (lab, 2015) and IT security (lab, 2013), encompassed by several seminars and further labs.
In 2010, I received my Diploma in Computer Science from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany with a major in cryptography and software engineering. I worked as a software-development intern for Siemens USA in Princeton, New Jersey, from March to September 2008.
News and activities:
- June 2025:
- I gave an invited presentation on the transition to quantum-safe networks at the World of Quantum Application Panel "Quantum-Safe Communication".
- We are happy to announce that the Workshop on Quantum-Safe Hybrid Cryptography concluded successfully.
- Accepted paper on versatile quantum-safe hybrid cryptography in the EPJ Quantum Technolgies journal. A preprint is available here.
- I gave a presentation on quantum-safe hybrid authenticated key exchanges at the ETSI/IQC Quantum Safe Cryptography Conference 2025.
- May 2025: I gave a presentation on quantum-safe hybrid key establishment at the Workshop on Quantum-Resistant Cryptography – an EUROCRYPT 2025 affiliated event.
- Apr. 2025: Accepted talk on hybrid authenticated key establishment at ETSI/IQC Quantum Safe Cryptography Conference 2025 in Madrid in June.
- Jan. 2025: Accepted paper on malleable SNARKs and their applications at Eurocrypt 2025.
- Jan. 2025: I am currently co-organizing a workshop on Quantum-Safe Hybrid Cryptography (under the umbrella of ACNS'25).
- Dec. 2024: I gave an invited talk on hybrid cryptography in the Quantum Technologies for Cryptography workshop at the Institut Henri Poincaré.
- Nov. 2024: Had a successful senior-promotion hearing at AIT; the new position will be held from 1st December 2024 onwards.
- Oct. 2024: Presentation of an invited webinar (with Ludovic Perret) on hybrid key exchanges for the European Commission under the umbrella of the QSNP project. The slides of the technical part are available here.
- Jul. 2024: Happy to serve as a program committee member of the Security Standardisation Research Conference 2024.
- May 2024: Attended the SKECH Workshop 2024.
- Bloom Filter Encryption and Applications to Efficient Forward-Secret 0-RTT Key ExchangeAdvances in Cryptology - EUROCRYPT 2018 - 37th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, Tel Aviv, Israel, April 29 - May 3, 2018 Proceedings, Part III
Organizing activities:
- Quantum-Safe Hybrid Cryptography 2025 (co-organizing)
Current projects:
- QSCS (ETSI 2025-2027)
- QSNP (HORIZON-RIA 2023-2026)
- QCI-CAT (Digital European Program, 2022-2025)
- PETRUS (Digital European Program, 2022-2025)
- EDOCC (European Defence Fund, 2022-2025)
Completed projects:
- TeamAware (EU HORIZON 2020, 2021-2024)
- PROFET (FWF, netidee SCIENCE, 2019-2023)
- COMP4DRONES (EU HORIZON 2020, ECSEL, 2019-2023)
- SECREDAS (EU HORIZON 2020, ECSEL, 2018-2021)
- IoT4CPS (FFG and BMK, ICT of the Future, 2017-2020)
- PRISMACLOUD (EU HORIZON 2020, 2015-2018)
- CREDENTIAL (EU HORIZON 2020, 2015-2018)
Research visits:
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Prof. Dominique Schröder, now at TU Vienna, 12/2022)
- ETH Zurich (Prof. Dennis Hofheinz, 09/2022)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (Prof. Martin R. Albrecht, now at King's College London and SandboxAQ, 10/2018)
- Paderborn University (Prof. Tibor Jager, now at Bergische Universität Wuppertal, 03/2017)
Teaching & supervision:
- Teaching: Advanced Public-Key Encryption (invited lecture, WT 2020, TU Vienna), Advanced Public-Key Encryption (invited lecture, WT 2019, TU Vienna), Algorithms I (TA, ST 2015, KIT), Gems of Theoretical Computer Science (ST 2014, KIT), IT security (TA, ST 2013, KIT), Software Development (WTs 2010-2012, KIT), Traitor Tracing (WT 2011, KIT), Identity-Based Encryption (ST 2011, KIT), Practical Cryptography (ST 2011, KIT), Lattice-Based Cryptography (WT 2010, KIT), TA programming and cryptography/IT security (until WT 09, Braunschweig University of Technology)
- PhD visitor: Jaime S. Buruaga (Technical University of Madrid, Jul.-Oct. 2024)
- Students & interns: Augustine Bugler (University of Vienna, Mar. 2025-), Augustine Bugler (University of Vienna, Jul.-Sep. 2024), Kevin Verhaeghe (ETH Zurich, Jul.-Sep. 2024), Alexander Zikulnig (TU Vienna, Aug.-Sep. 2022), Denis Jahic (TU Vienna, Jul.-Sep. 2021), Christian Matt (KIT, 2011), Alexander Mai (KIT, 2014)
Program committees:
- QCNC 2025, 2024
- CANS 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
- Security Standardisation Research Conference 2024, 2023
- IMA International Conference on Cryptography and Coding 2019
- ICISSP 2025, 2024
- GI SICHERHEIT 2024, 2022 & 2020
- ARES Workshops 2023, 2022 & 2020
- IFIP Summer School on Privacy and Identity Management 2019 & 2018
Selected external reviewing activities: