Zhe Liu

As the Internet of Things (IoT) technology advances, electronic devices of all sizes can be found everywhere, and they are powered by inconspicuous chips. However, the existing cryptographic protocols are difficult to be deployed in resource-constrained IoT devices. Without strong cryptographic algorithms and implementations, the IoT devices can easily be attacked by hackers and become a weak point for the data breach.

Dr. Zhe Liu, a professor in the College of Computer Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has spent nearly a decade on how to realize lightweight, high-performance, and highly secure cryptographic algorithms on resource-constrained IoT chips, as well as how to improve the efficiency of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and make them effectively resist side-channel attacks.

To address these problems, he has proposed various key optimization technologies for lightweight elliptic curve key exchange protocol, and efficient implementation technology of post-quantum cryptographic protocols. These research results have been published in top conferences and journals, such as CCS, CHES, IEEE TRANS, and ACM TRANS.

During Zhe’s Ph.D. period, he mainly researched lightweight solutions for efficient and secure implementation of cryptographic algorithms for IoT devices. As the concept of the "Internet of Everything" gradually enters daily life, this field of research is currently very active and valuable.

After completing the doctoral studies, Zhe successively worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo and the University of Luxembourg, and his research also expanded to the field of post-quantum cryptography. He then joined Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, joined the School of Computer Science as a professor and doctoral supervisor, and continued to engage in related research on cryptographic engineering and post-quantum cryptography.

Zhe is currently leading his team to tackle the technical difficulties in the implementation of the post-quantum cryptographic algorithms that take high security, high throughput, and lightweight all into consideration.

In the future, he will continue to study the post-quantum security theoretical system and implementation methods of cryptographic chips and algorithms, and actively cooperate with the industry to create an integrated system that includes the design, implementation, and application of cryptographic algorithms.