PhD Position: Post-Quantum Transition of Secure Communication Protocols

The Inria Saclay research center is seeking a PhD candidate to join the SURYCAT team to address the security challenges posed by quantum computing. The project focuses on transitioning existing secure communication protocols, such as VPNs and messaging systems, to post-quantum standards through hybridization and crypto-agility. The successful candidate will design, implement, and formally verify new protocols to ensure they remain secure against future quantum threats. This position offers the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment with strong ties to both academic and industrial partners.

• Conduct a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of secure communication protocols and their post-quantum transition paths.
• Analyze and measure the performance impact of post-quantum mechanisms on existing protocols.
• Propose and design new, efficient, and crypto-agile communication protocols.
• Develop formal security proofs for proposed constructions in computational or symbolic models.
• Implement and optimize protocols to demonstrate practical feasibility on existing hardware.
• Author research articles and the final PhD thesis manuscript.