ACM PQQS 2026

Prof. Bart Preneel

Affiliation: COSIC, KU Leuven

Talk title: Post-Quantum Cryptography: A Migration and Policy Perspective

Abstract: Over the past two decades, the cryptographic community has made remarkable progress in developing public-key algorithms designed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers. The sustained standardization effort led by NIST has produced a new generation of post-quantum cryptographic schemes, and work is now underway to update application-specific standards across a wide range of domains. Several major industry actors have already begun migrating secure-channel and messaging protocols to these new primitives. Yet despite this technical momentum, transitioning an ecosystem of more than 70 billion devices, applications, and software libraries to post-quantum cryptography remains an immense challenge. Governments are introducing migration deadlines around 2030–2031, compressing timelines and increasing pressure on vendors and infrastructure operators. Some architectures will require redesign, and hardware replacement is significantly more complex and costly than software updates. In addition, practical post-quantum alternatives are still lacking for certain cryptographic primitives, and diverging national policies risk fragmenting global markets. This talk will provide an overview of the technical, operational, and policy challenges associated with the transition to post-quantum cryptography.

Biography: Prof. Bart Preneel is a full professor heading the COSIC research group at the KU Leuven. His expertise lies in applied cryptography, cybersecurity, and privacy. Prof. Preneel has delivered numerous invited talks across 50 countries and received several awards including the RSA Award for Excellence in Mathematics (2014). He served as president of IACR (International Association for Cryptologic Research) and is a fellow of the IACR and a member of the Royal Academy of Art and Sciences Belgium and the Academia Europea. He frequently consults for industry and government about cybersecurity and privacy technologies and he has testified multiple times for the Flemish, Belgian and European Parliaments. Prof. Preneel founded the mobile authentication startup nextAuth and holds roles in Approach Belgium, Tioga Capital Partners, and Nym Technologies. He is actively engaged in cybersecurity policy debates.

Dr. Reza Nejabati

Affiliation: Cisco

Talk title: Quantum-Enhanced Internet Infrastructure: Opportunities, Challenges, and Risks

Abstract: Quantum networking is often viewed through a relatively narrow lens—as a point-to-point medium for quantum key distribution. In this talk, I will challenge that conventional view and present a broader vision of a universal quantum network: an infrastructure capable of distributing quantum information and entanglement across heterogeneous devices, networks, and computing platforms.

I will explore why such networks are needed, what new capabilities they can enable, and what technical and architectural challenges must be addressed to make them practical. In particular, I will discuss how quantum networking can coexist with and enhance today’s Internet infrastructure, rather than requiring an entirely separate network, and examine the opportunities and risks that arise from integrating quantum capabilities into existing communication systems.

Finally, I will discuss how a universal quantum network could become a critical infrastructure layer for scalable and distributed quantum computing—connecting smaller quantum processors, enabling modular architectures, and potentially accelerating the path toward practically useful quantum computers.

The broader question is not simply how to build a future “quantum Internet,” but how the Internet itself may evolve into a quantum-enhanced infrastructure supporting both classical and quantum applications.

Biography: Reza Nejabati is currently leading quantum research activities at Cisco, spearheading development and execution of both short-term and long-term quantum research roadmaps. He leads a dynamic team of quantum and network scientists, encompassing both experimentalists and theorists, and collaborations with prominent academic groups and industries. Additionally, he is leading the development of Cisco’s Quantum Research Lab, an innovative facility dedicated to advancing quantum networking research. Prior to joining Cisco, Reza served as a Chair Professor of Networks and Head of the High-Performance Network Group in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol, UK. His research focus and expertise lies in the realms of quantum and classical network infrastructure for the future internet.

Dr. Vipul Goyal

Affiliation: NTT Research; Carnegie Mellon University

Talk title: Quantum Uncloneability and its Cryptographic Applications

Abstract: Quantum information cannot, in general, be copied. This basic physical constraint gives rise to cryptographic possibilities that have no classical analogue. In this talk, I will discuss how quantum uncloneability can be harnessed as a cryptographic resource.

I will start with the older well-known primitives such as quantum money, quantum software protection, and unclonable encryption. I will then focus on the more recent notion of quantum leakage resilience, where cryptographic security remains even in the presence of unbounded classical side information on quantum secrets.

We will then go further to discuss proofs of non-intrusion (PONIs), which provides a way for a server to prove to the client that their data being stored has not been leaked upon. A central challenge in data security is not just preventing theft, but detecting whether it has occurred. There are various regulations which require prompt disclosure of any large-scale theft of data. However, currently, there is no cryptographic enforcement mechanism for that purpose. Proofs of non-intrusion precisely aim to fill that gap.

Biography: Vipul Goyal is a Senior Scientist at NTT Research in California, a position he has held since 2020. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Previously, he was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at CMU from 2017 to 2022 (on leave from 2020 to 2022). From 2009 to 2016, he was a researcher in the Cryptography and Complexity group at Microsoft Research India. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009, and his B.Tech. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi in 2004.

Dr. Goyal is a winner of several honors including a 2019 JP Morgan Faculty award, 2016 ACM CCS test of time award, a Microsoft Research graduate fellowship, and a Google outstanding graduate student award. He was named to the Forbes magazine 30 under 30 list of people changing science and healthcare in 2013. His research has received media coverage at popular science publications such as MIT Technology Review, Slashdot, and Nature News. He has given invited lectures at places such as MIT, Princeton, and IIT Delhi. He has served on program committees of conferences such as Crypto, Eurocrypt, STOC and IEEE S&P. He has published over 100 technical papers at top conferences in cryptography such as at Crypto, Eurocrypt, STOC, FOCS, and ACM CCS.

He is broadly interested in all areas of cryptography and quantum cryptography (and in theoretical computer science in general).