Christoph Striecks

Senior Scientist | Cryptography Specialist | Standardisation

Vienna, Vienna, Austria

About

I am a senior scientist specializing in the design and analysis of secure communication systems, with a focus on cryptographic protocols and primitives – particularly key exchange, encryption, data access control, and authentication. My most recent work is on advancing hybrid quantum-safe cryptography to achieve long-term security for next-generation communication infrastructures. I contribute to standardization efforts at ETSI and CEN/CENELEC – including my past role in ETSI STF 529 (standardizing Attribute-Based Encryption) and my current involvement in ETSI STF 684 (standardizing Quantum-Safe Hybrid Authenticated Key Exchange). In 2016, I joined the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria’s largest research and technology organization. Before, I held a postdoctoral position at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. In 2015, I earned my PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Cryptography from KIT under the supervision of Prof. Dennis Hofheinz (now at ETH Zurich). My PhD research focused on advanced cryptographic building blocks with an emphasis on security proofs. During my time at KIT, I also contributed to teaching, including Algorithms I (lab, 2015) and IT Security (lab, 2013), as well as seminars and additional lab sessions. In 2010, I completed my Diploma in Computer Science at the Technical University of Braunschweig, with a focus on cryptography and software engineering. During my studies, I had the opportunity to particpate in an internship with Siemens USA in Princeton, New Jersey (2008).

Experience

  • AIT Austrian Institute of Technology (Full-time · 10 yrs 6 mos)
    • Senior Scientist
      Dec 2024 - Present · 1 yr 7 mos

      Long-term secure communication & quantum-classical hybridization, advanced cryptography research, among others.

    • Scientist
      Jan 2016 - Nov 2024 · 8 yrs 11 mos

      Long-term secure communication, quantum-safe hybridization, advanced cryptography research, among others.

  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (Full-time · 5 yrs 6 mos)
    • Postdoctoral Researcher in Cryptography
      Aug 2015 - Dec 2015 · 5 mos

      Research and teaching in cryptography

    • PhD Student in Cryptography
      Jul 2010 - Jul 2015 · 5 yrs 1 mo

      Research and teaching in cryptography

  • Software Developer at Siemens
    Mar 2008 - Sep 2008 · 7 mos

    Internship as Software developer