Project overview:

• Goal: To develop a working program for performing cryptographic algorithm inventory, including a transition model (from classical to PQC).
• Location: Amsterdam / Eindhoven
  
• Timeframe: 5-6 months
• Starting: TBA
• Complexity: Medium
• Team: Public/Finance
• Supervisor: Tom Tervoort

As a student, you have:

Education:

• An HBO or WO level of education in the relevant domain.

Technical skills:

• Working understanding of encryption algorithms, both classical, and PQC and their specific requirements for implementation and key management.
  

Soft skills:

• The ability to work well in an international team environment;
• Good communication skills
• Organized.
• Clear documentation writing skills.

The project you will be working on:

Our customers include organizations that use cryptography in situations that will be impacted by quantum computers. When that happens, various classical cryptographic algorithms will become unusable. In order to avoid immense impact at that time, it is widely seen as necessary to prepare for this event, and transition to algorithms that are quantum-resistant. So-called Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) offers such resistant algorithms and already, browsers such as Chrome will be supporting PQC in the very near future. See https://blog.chromium.org/2023/08/protecting-chrome-traffic-with-hybrid.html for more information on this. In this project, we will involve our cryptographic experts, who will help you and guide you on the technical details of the cryptographic algorithms and their usage.

In order to help companies prepare, a transition to PQC is required. And in order to transition, it is required to inventorise what crypto is used where and for what use-cases. Once that is clear, a program can be developed to transition on a specific time-scale (from now to 10 years is a realistic period).

As an intern, you will be responsible for the following:

• Develop a working program for PQC transitioning that includes:
  1. A maturity model that shows how PQC-ready an organization is.
  2. A methodology for inventorising cryptographic usage in medium to large organisations;
  3. A transition model for phased transition to PQC;
  4. Risk assessment for potential inclusion of forward secrecy;
  5. Providing a concrete advisory report on this transition, including steps, timelines and recommendations.

Execute the resulting working program at a launching customer, together with Secura’s consultants.