Abstract:

Suppose I claim I can taste the difference between Carlsberg and Tuborg. If you don't believe me, you could pour some beer in a glass and see if I can guess correctly which brand you chose. If we repeat the process enough times, you will eventually be persuaded that I can actually taste the difference.

A very similar principle is used to build "Zero-Knowledge Proofs", a fundamental concept in modern cryptology. Zero-Knowledge Proofs are a revolutionary technology with a deep and fascinating theory, and are also extremely useful in building complex cryptographic systems such as digital signature schemes, identification protocols, credential systems and Blockchain applications. 

In this talk I will give an high level overview of a recent line of research in Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and focus on some interesting applications, including "Picnic", a proposal for a post-quantum signature scheme that I designed together with a large international team, and which is currently submitted to a competition run by NIST, the US institute of standards and technology.

About the lecture:

This lecture is organised to mark the start of Claudio Orlandi's ERC Starting Grant SPEC. ERC Starting Grants are awarded to talented early-career researchers with 2 to 7 years experience after PhD, with up to 1.5€ million for 5 years. You can read more about the project here http://scitech.au.dk/en/about-science-and-technology/current-affairs/news/show/artikel/translate-to-english-erc-bevilling-til-forskning-i-fremtidens-kryptografiske-protokoller/

There will be coffe and cake at the talk.