AusQRC 2025

In August 2024, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued the first Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) for post-quantum cryptography – a landmark step toward quantum-resistant security that is already driving global change, such as:

• The European Union has committed to securing critical infrastructure with PQC by 2030.

• Canada has published a federal migration roadmap.

• The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre is urging organisations to begin planning now.

• Singapore is rolling out a national quantum-safe network. 

To respond to this shift, Monash University’s Faculty of IT launched the inaugural Quantum-Resistant Cybersecurity in Australia (AusQRC) conference in 2024, sponsored by Penten, Senetas and Quantum Australia.

The conference returns this year to assess Australia’s readiness, compare international responses, and explore the next steps needed to safeguard national security, critical infrastructure and industry in a post-quantum world.

The conference will coincide with the international Asiacrypt 2025 conference in Melbourne from 9 to 12 December.

Hosts

Dr Muhammed Esgin

Monash University

Dr Esgin is a cryptography expert and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Australia. His research delves into all theoretical and practical dimensions of developing practically efficient cryptographic algorithms, focusing particularly on quantum-safe and privacy-enhancing technologies. He has a strong focus on applications of these algorithms to solve real-life problems.

His research has been recognised/funded by prestigious awards and grants including an Amazon Research Award, a Google Research Scholar Award, an ARC Discovery Project grant and the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Thesis Excellence Award for his PhD dissertation at Monash University.

Professor Ron Steinfeld

Monash University

Ron Steinfeld is a Professor at the Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, Monash University, Australia, where he is currently the Cybersecurity Group Lead. His main research interests are in the design and analysis of cryptographic algorithms and protocols, and in particular in the area of quantum-resistant cryptography and its applications. He has over 25 years experience in cryptography research, and his research spans theoretical foundation to design of protocols and their engineering aspects.

His research has been funded by research grants from multiple organisations, including Australian Research Council, US Govt Dept of State, and the software industry. He received the the ASIACRYPT 2015 Best Paper Award, and the 2024 Test of Time award from the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) for his foundational work from 2009 on structured lattice problems that are the basis for three US NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography standards published in 2024.

Keynote speakers

Thomas Prest

PQShield

Thomas Prest is the Head of Research at PQShield, an European company specialised in post-quantum cryptography (PQC). He earned his PhD from École Normale Supérieure, focusing on lattice‑based cryptography, which is the main mathematical tool used PQC. Dr Prest is a co‑author of the signature scheme Falcon, which has been selected by NIST as a PQC standard (FIPS 206: FN-DSA).

Jonathan Katz

Google

Jonathan Katz is currently a Senior Staff Research Scientist on the Private Computing team at Google. He is also Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, where he worked for over 20 years and also served for more than 5 years as director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center. He is a co-author of the widely used textbook “Introduction to Modern Cryptography” (now in its third edition) and offers a free online course on cryptography through Coursera.

Katz has received several awards including an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, a UMD Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award, and an ACM SIGSAC Outstanding Contribution Award. He is a fellow of the IACR and the ACM.

MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON.

Agenda

2025 PROGRAM TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON.