Abstract: Rapid scientific innovations have exposed the growing tension between functionality and security in emerging technologies. This is further exacerbated by the looming threat of quantum computers. The goal of advanced cryptography is to build secure systems that simultaneously address these concerns while equally prioritizing efficiency. In my research, I develop provably-secure advanced cryptographic systems by relying on the hardness of well-studied mathematical problems related to integer lattices, number theory, noisy parity learning, and more.

 

In this talk, I will describe some of the advanced systems that I have designed which include traceable encryption, program obfuscation, aggregatable signatures, decentralized proof systems, and multi-user encryption systems. I will focus on my work in building advanced encryption systems that solved the 25-year-old open problem of traitor tracing. Traitor tracing has great practical impact in protecting from insider corruption and providing accountability as well as in many other areas such as differential privacy, software watermarking and leasing, and quantum copy protection. I will introduce new techniques and abstractions in lattice-based cryptography to prove post-quantum security of such advanced encryption systems.

 

Finally, I will talk about the broader impact of advanced cryptography in influencing public policy and law, and discuss my research vision.

Short Bio: Rishab Goyal is a postdoctoral researcher in the Cryptography and Information Security group at the MIT Computer Science and AI Laboratory. His primary interests are cryptography and computer security, with a special focus on developing provably-secure systems with advanced cryptographic capabilities and post-quantum security. Prior to MIT, he was an Apple Research Fellow at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing. He received his Ph.D. from UT Austin, advised by Brent Waters, and B.Tech. from IIT Delhi. His Ph.D. was supported by the IBM Ph.D. Fellowship and the Graduate Dean's Prestigious Fellowship at UT Austin. And, his doctoral dissertation on building traitor tracing systems was awarded the Bert Kay Dissertation Award for best doctoral thesis at UT Austin.