My research focuses
on post-quantum cryptography - the area of cryptography covering different families of cryptosystems believed to be secure under quantum computer attacks. I am interested in evaluating underlying hardness assumptions (code-based, multivariate) for the purpose of design and (side-channel assisted) cryptanalysis of post-quantum candidates.
Kai-Chun Ning, Lars Ran, Simona Samardjiska. Multihomogeneous XL. preprint (pdf)
Pilar Coscojuela, Krishna Mahavadi, Ludovic Perret, Alex Ryba, Simona Samardjiska. On the complexity of the relative eigenvector problem. ISSAC 2025 (pdf)
Lars Ran and Simona Samardjiska. Rare Structures in Tensor Graphs. ASIACRYPT 2024. (pdf)
Tung Chou, Ruben Niederhagen, Lars Ran and Simona Samardjiska. (2024). Reducing Signature Size of Matrix-Code-Based Signature Schemes. PQCrypto 2024 (pdf)
Thomas Aulbach, Simona Samardjiska and Monika Trimoska. Practical key-recovery attack on MQ-Sign. PQCrypto 2024 (pdf)
Krijn Reijnders, Simona Samardjiska and Monika Trimoska. Hardness estimates of the Code Equivalence Problem in the Rank Metric. Designs, Codes and Cryptography, 2024 (pdf)
Lars Ran, Simona Samardjiska and Monika Trimoska Algebraic Algorithm for the Alternating Trilinear Form Equivalence Problem. CBCrypto 2023. (pdf)
Julius Hermelink, Erik M˚artensson, Simona Samardjiska, Peter Pessl, and Gabi Dreo Rodosek. Belief propagation meets lattice reduction: Security estimates for error-tolerant key recovery from decryption errors. IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, 2023(4) 287-317
Thomas Aulbach, Fabio Campos, Juliane Kr¨amer, Simona Samardjiska, and Marc St¨ottinger. Separating oil and vinegar with a single trace. IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, 2023(3) 221-245
Tung Chou, Ruben Niederhagen, Edoardo Persichetti, Tovohery Hajatiana Randrianarisoa, Krijn Reijnders, Simona Samardjiska, and Monika Trimoska. Take your MEDS: Digital Signatures from Matrix Code Equivalence. In AFRICACRYPT 2023, LNCS. Springer, 2023
Krijn Reijnders, Simona Samardjiska and Monika Trimoska. Hardness estimates of the Code Equivalence Problem in the Rank Metric Proceedings of The Twelfth International Workshop on Coding and Cryptography - WCC 2022, March 7 - 11, 2022, Rostock (Germany)
A. Bay, Z. Erkin, J. -H. Hoepman, S. Samardjiska and J. Vos. Practical Multi-Party Private Set Intersection Protocols/ in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, vol. 17, pp. 1-15, 2022, doi: 10.1109/TIFS.2021.3118879
Mike Hamburg, Julius Hermelink, Robert Primas, Simona Samardjiska, Thomas Schamberger, Silvan Streit, Emanuele Strieder, Christine van Vredendaal: Chosen Ciphertext k-Trace Attacks on Masked CCA2 Secure Kyber. IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, 2021(4), 88–113. https://doi.org/10.46586/tches.v2021.i4.88-113
Powers of Two: The Information Universe ― Information as the Building Block of Everything 1st ed. 2021 Edition by Edwin A. Valentijn (Editor), Robbert Dijkgraaf (Foreword)
Thom Wiggers and Simona Samardjiska: Practically Solving LPN in 2021 IEEE International Symposium on
Information Theory - ISIT 2021, to appear. [pdf][slides][bibtex]
Norman Lahr, Ruben Niederhagen, Richard Petri, and Simona Samardjiska: Side channel information
set decoding using iterative chunking in Advances in Cryptology – ASIACRYPT
2020. LNCS, volume 12491. Springer International Publishing, 2020, pp. 881–910. [pdf][slides][bibtex]
Simona Samardjiska, Paolo Santini, Edoardo Persichetti, and Gustavo Banegas: A Reaction
Attack Against Cryptosystems Based on LRPC Codes in Progress in
Cryptology – LATINCRYPT 2019. Ed. by P. Schwabe and N. Thériault.
Vol. 11774. LNCS. Springer, 2019, pp. 197–216.
Ming-Shing Chen, Andreas Hülsing, Joost Rijneveld, Simona Samardjiska, and Peter Schwabe: SOFIA:
MQ-based signatures in the QROM, in Public-Key Cryptography – PKC 2018, LNCS 10770, pp. 3-33,
Springer, 2018.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Quadratic Permutations, Compelte Mappings and Mutually
Orthogonal Latin Squares, Mathematica Slovaca Vol. 67, 5, (2017) pp. 1-18.
Ming-Shing Chen, Andreas Hülsing, Joost Rijneveld, Simona Samardjiska and Peter Schwabe: From 5-pass
MQ-based identification to MQ-based signatures, Advances in Cryptology – ASIACRYPT 2016, LNCS 10032,
pp. 135-165, Springer, 2016.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: An encryption scheme based on Random Split of St-Gen codes,
2016 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), pp. 800-804, IEEE, 2016.
Danilo Gligoroski and Simona Samardjiska A Digital Signature Scheme Based on Random Split of St-Gen
Codes, Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2016/391, 2016
Danilo Gligoroski and Simona Samardjiska: Semantic Security and Key-Privacy with Random Split of St-Gen
Codes, CiE 2016, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 9709, pp. 105–114, Springer, 2016.
Hristina Mihajloska, Danilo Gligoroski and Simona Samardjiska: Reviving the Idea of Incremental
Cryptographyfor the Zettabyte era - Use case: Incremental Hash Functions Based on SHA-3, iNetSec 2015,
Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 9591, pp. 97–111, Springer, 2016.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Approaching Maximum Embedding Efficiency on Small Covers Using
Staircase-Generator Codes, 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), pp.
2752-2756 IEEE, 2015.
Jean-Charles Faugère, Danilo Gligoroski, Ludovic Perret, Simona Samardjiska and Enrico Thomae: A
Polynomial-Time Key-Recovery Attack on MQQ Cryptosystems, Public-Key Cryptography - PKC 2015, Lecture
Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 9020, pp. 150-174 Springer, 2015.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Linearity Measures for Multivariate Cryptography, SECURWARE
2014, The Eighth International Conference on Emerging Security Information, Systems and Technologies pp.
157--166, International Academy, Research and Industry Association (IARIA), 2014.
Danilo Gligoroski, Simona Samardjiska, Håkon Jacobsen and Sergey Bezzateev, McEliece in the world of
Escher, Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2014/360, 2014
Danilo Gligoroski, Hristina Mihajloska, Simona Samardjiska, Håkon Jacobsen, Rune Erlend Jensen and Mohamed
El-Hadedy: π-Cipher: Authenticated Encryption for Big Data, NORDSEC 2014, Lecture Notes in Computer
Science Volume 8788, 2014, pp 110-128.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Left MQQs whose left parastrophe is also quadratic,
Commentationes Mathematicae Universitatis Carolinae Vol. 53, 3, pp. 397--421, 2012.
Simona Samardjiska, Yanling Chen and Danilo Gligoroski: Algorithms for Construction of Multivariate
Quadratic Quasigroups (MQQs) and Their Parastrophe Operations in Arbitrary Galois Fields, Journal of
Information Assurance and Security, Vol. 7 (2012) pp. 164--172.
Simona Samardjiska: On the Parastrophes of Polynomial Binary Quasigroups, Mahtematica Balkanica, Vol.
26, (2012), Fasc. 3-4, pp. 389-398.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Towards a Secure Multivariate Identity-Based Encryption,
ICT Innovations 2012, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing Vol 207, pp. 59--69 Springer 2012.
Danilo Gligoroski and Simona Samardjiska, The Multivariate Probabilistic Encryption Scheme MQQ-ENC,
Cryptology ePrint Archive, Report 2012/328, 2012
Haakon Jacobsen, Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: On the strong and weak keys in MQQ-SIG,
ICT Innovations 2012, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing Vol 207, pp. 183-193 Springer 2012.
Simona Samardjiska, Yanling Chen and Danilo Gligoroski: Construction of Multivariate Quadratic
Quasigroups (MQQs) in Arbitrary Galois Fields, 7th International Conference on Information Assurance
and Security (IAS), IEEE conference proceedings 2011 pp. 314--319.
Simona Samardjiska and Danilo Gligoroski: Identity-Based Identification Schemes Using Left Multivariate
Quasigroups, Norsk informasjonssikkerhetskonferanse - NISK 2011, Tapir Akad.Forlag 2011, pp. 19--30.
Simona Samardjiska: On Some Cryptographic Properties of the Polynomial Quasigroups, ICT Innovations
2010, Communications in Computer and Information Science Vol 83, pp. 1--10, Springer 2010. (Best Paper
Award).
Smile Markovski, Vesna Dimitrova and Simona Samardjiska: Identity Sieves for Quasigroups, Quasigroups
And Related Systems 2010, Vol. 18(2) pp. 149-164.
Danilo Gligoroski, Hristina Mihajloska, Simona Samardjiska, Håkon Jacobsen, Mohamed El-Hadedy and Rune
Erlend Jensen, π–Cipher v1.s CAESAR: Competition for authenticated encryption: Security, applicability, and
robustness, 2014
Smile Markovski and Aleksandra Mileva, NaSHA - family of cryptographic hash functions - SHA-3 Submission and Round-1 candidate. Contributors - Boro Jakimovski (programmer) and Simona
Samardjiska (programmer).
On equivalence problems, minimal keys and digital signatures - Workshop on the Mathematics of Post-Quantum Cryptography, University of Zurich, Switzerland, June 3, 2025
Algorithms for solving the tensor isomorphism problem - KULB seminar on post-quantum cryptography, ULB, Brussels, December 6, 2024
The tensor isomorphism problem in cryptography - Young Cryptographers in Genova 2024, Genova, Italy, November 28-29, 2024
Algorithms for solving the matrix code equivalence problem - Post-Quantum Cryptography Seminar, Institut Henri Poincare, Paris, October 24, 2024
Algorithms for solving the matrix code equivalence problem - Congress De Componendis Cifris 2024, Rome, Italy, September 2024
Algebraic methods in code-based cryptography EURASIP webinar series 2024, online, September 18, 2024
Design principles in multivariate cryptography - Mathematics for post-quantum cryptanalysis, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, 5-9 August 2024
Multivariate cryptography lecture series - SLMath summer school, IBM research, Zurich, Switzerland, July 2024
Theoretical and practical hardness of some equivalence problems - Conceptual Challenges in AI: from ML to Average-Case Computation and Cryptography, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, May 22-24, 2024
Algebraic methods in code-based cryptography - CBCrypto 2024 International Workshop on Code-Based Cryptography, Zurich, Switzerland, May 25-26, 2024
Post-quantum cryptography - Faculty of computer science and engineering, UKIM, Skopje, Macedonia, May 2024
Graph theoretic algorithms for the matrix code equivalence problem - ATTACC Workshop, Munich, February 2024
Making and Breaking PQ crypto "CICLO DE CONFERENCIAS DE LA MUJER EN LA CIENCIA", 31 August, 2023 Anahuac University, Mexico
Theoretical and practical hardness of some equivalence problems – CWI seminars March 2023
Algebraic algorithms for equivalence problems - SIAM AG 23-SIAM Conference on Applied Algebraic Geometry 2023, July Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Making and Breaking PQ crypto - CrossFyre 2022, University of Passau, October 2022
The NIST post-quantum standardization process - a few thoughts while waiting for the standard - Quantum Symposium, Dutch Banking Association (NVB), April 12th, 2022, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Matrix Code Equivalence problem - Theoretical and algorithmic aspects – ACCESS- Algebraic Coding and Cryptography on the East coast Seminar Series, March 1st, online event
Post Quantum Cryptography, QIHR – Governmental Quantum Innovation Hub, September 11, 2020, The Hague,
The Netherlands
A ticking time bomb: Quantum computers, quantum cryptography and quantum-resistant cryptography, CogX
panel, Global Leadership Summit and Festival of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology, June 9th,
2020, London, UK (virtual)
Quantum supremacy and Digital Security, Radboud reflects, Radboud University, November 4, 2019,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands [slides]
Multivariate signatures - a post quantum alternative, Cyber Security seminar, EWI, TU Delft, October
29, 2019, Delft, The Netherlands [slides]
Quasigroups for cryptography, International Mathematical Conference on Quasigroups and Loops - LOOPS
’19, July 12, 2019, Budapest, Hungary [slides]
Algebraic techniques for cryptanalysis of rank-based cryptosystems, SIAM AG 19 -SIAM Conference on
Applied Algebraic Geometry 2019, July 9-13, Bern, Switzerland [slides]
Quantum computers vs Digital Security, Radboud alumni workshop - Science that will change the world,
Radboud University, December 15, 2018, Nijmegen, The Netherlands [slides]
Post-Quantum Secure Technologies, Cyber Security Week, October 4, 2018, The Hague, The Netherlands
[slides]
Post-Quantum Cryptography, Science café Nijmegen, June 5, 2018, Nijmegen, The Netherlands [slides]
Post Quantum Cryptography for the IoT, RIOT summit, September 24, 2017, Berlin, Germany [slides]
Quantum computers vs Cryptography, Quantum Gravity Wednesday Seminar, Radboud University, May 10,
2017, Nijmegen, The Netherlands [slides]
MQDSS signatures – security, Crypto Working Group, March 24, 2017, Utrecht, The Netherlands [slides]
Covering Codes vs LPN, Digital Security Lunch Talk, Radboud University, March 17, Nijmegen, The
Netherlands [slides]
Lessons learned doing my PhD… revisited, COINS PhD seminar, November 27, 2016, Bergen, Norway
What is a Quantum Computer and what are the Implications to Cryptography, Hacklab KiKa, September
2015, Skopje, Macedonia
Linear attacks in MQ cryptography, NIST seminar, March 27, 2015, Maryland, USA [slides]
Linear attacks in MQ cryptography, Part I and II, Selmer center, University of Bergen, Norway,
February 3-4, 2015, Bergen, Norway [slides
part I][slides part II]
Tools for anonymity, Autonomous Zone event, UKIM, Skopje, February 17, 2015, Skopje, Macedonia
A Polynomial-time Key-Recovery Attack on MQQ Cryptosystems, PolSys, LIP6, INRIA, Paris, November 25,
2014, Paris, France [slides]
McEliece in the world of Escher, CrIM'13, November 25-26, 2013, Oulu, Finland [slides]
Lessons learned doing my PhD, COINS PhD seminar, November 21, 2013, Stavanger, Norway
Polynomial Quasigroups of order 2^w, Department of Mathematics, University of Oulu, November 2011,
Oulu, Finland [slides]
Associate editor of EURASIP journal on Information Security, Spinger Open Co-chair of cybersecurity session - Netherlands Mathematical Congress 2025 (with Alberto Ravagnani and Monika Trimoska)
Track co-chair - Cryptography for security and privacy - emerging challenges, NOW ICT.OPEN 2024 (with Monika Trimoska)
Program committies
IACR CiC 2026 (IACR Communications in Cryptology) ASIACRYPT 2025 (International Conference on the Theory and Application of Cryptology and Information Security) TCHES 2025 (Transactions of Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems) EUROCRYPT 2025 (Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques) PKC 2026, 2020 (International Conference on Practice and Theory of Public-Key Cryptography) CRYPTO 2024 artifacts (Annual International Cryptology Conference) PQCRYPTO 2026, 2025, 2019, 2018 (International Conference on Post-Quantum Cryptography) AfricaCrypt 2026, 2025,2024,2023, 2022 (International Conference on Cryptology in Africa) SAC 2025, 2022, 2021 (Conference on Selected Areas in Cryptography) CBCrypto 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023,2022,2021, 2020 (International Workshop on Code-Based Cryptography) FCiR 2025 (Financial Cryptography in Rome 2025) ISC 2024 (Information Security Conference) EURASIP TAC ASSOC BForSec 2024-2027 technical area committee member LOOPS 2023 (International Mathematical Conference on Quasigroups and Loops) CANS 2020 (Cryptology and Network Security) LATINCRYPT 2019 (International Conference on Cryptology and Information Security in Latin America)
Organization
Crypto Working Group - 2023-present
2nd Oxford Post-Quantum Cryptography Summit 2023, Oxford, UK
Lorentz Center Workshop "Post-Quantum Cryptography for Embedded Systems" 2022
40th Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, EUROCRYPT 2021, Zagreb, Croatia
10th International Workshop on Cryptography, Robustness, and Provably Secure Schemes for Female Young Researchers (CrossFyre) (co-located with EUROCRYPT 2021), Croatia
Alice & Eve - Workshop for women studying and working in Computing in the Netherlands
Summer School on real-world crypto and privacy, Šibenik, Croatia, 2018-2025
Oxford Post-Quantum Cryptography Workshop, University of Oxford, 2019
20th Conference on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems CHES 2018
21st Workshop on Elliptic Curve Cryptography, 2017
Monika Trimoska (2021-2023, with Peter Schwabe, supported by 50K FNWI grant for young mothers and EPOQUE ERC grant) Abraham Cano Aguilera (to start 2026, with Lejla Batina, supported by NWO Open Competition Science XL grant ESCAPE)
PhD students
Krijn Reijnders (2020-2025, Isogenies and Isometries, cum laude) Lars Ran (2023-present, supported by NWO Open Competition Science M-1 grant AlPaQca)
Melvin Seitner (2024-present, supported by NWO Quantum technology grant PQstrong) Filip Richter (2025-present, supported by NWO Open Competition Science XL grant ESCAPE)