GAPS 2026 Workshop
The Workshop on Generic Attacks and Proofs in Symmetric Cryptography brings together leading experts and early-career researchers in provable security for symmetric cryptography to reflect on three decades of progress in practice-oriented security proofs and to explore emerging challenges and future directions. Building on foundational advances in modern cryptography, the workshop addresses developments in security notions, proof techniques, and tight security bounds, together with new questions arising from real-world applications.
The 2nd Workshop on Generic Attacks and Proofs in Symmetric Cryptography (GAPS), organized by Prof. Elena Andreeva at TU Wien, focuses on topics including tight security bounds, general proof techniques, new security notions, post-quantum security, proof-driven approaches to zero-knowledge proofs and secure computation, arithmetization-oriented cryptography, leakage and fault resilience, and automated verification of security proofs.
The programme includes two Distinguished Lectures.
Phillip Rogaway (formerly UC Davis) will present “Three Unwritten Papers in Symmetric Cryptography.” The talk revisits three problems in symmetric cryptography that he once considered promising enough to develop into full papers but ultimately left unexplored. The lecture offers a reflective and deliberately intriguing look at ideas that never became completed research projects.
Mihir Bellare (UC San Diego) will present “The Next Generation.” The talk will address current and emerging challenges in cryptographic research, combining a technical discussion of foundational questions in authenticated encryption with a broader reflection on how artificial intelligence may shape the future of the field and its research community.
The programme begins with the presentation and selection of research topics, followed by focused working sessions that enable in-depth discussion of unresolved problems, emerging challenges, and promising lines of inquiry.
GAPS 2026 is supported by WWTF CrossPings, the Ethereum Foundation, and the Cybersecurity Center TU Wien.
