Post-Quantum Byzantine Fault Tolerant Consensus Protocols ALEPH
ID: p-2026-aleph-1
Published on: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Deadline for Applications: Tuesday, 24 March 2026 at 23:59
Description:
The advent of quantum computing poses a serious threat to classical public-key cryptography, including digital signature schemes that are a fundamental building block of modern Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocols. State-of-the-art BFT protocols, such as HotStuff and its derivatives, rely heavily on efficient digital signatures and quorum certificates to guarantee safety and liveness in adversarial settings.
Post-quantum signature schemes, while offering resistance against quantum adversaries, introduce significant challenges in terms of signature size, verification cost, and communication overhead, which may deeply impact the performance and scalability of consensus protocols.
This project aims to investigate the integration of post-quantum signature schemes into BFT consensus protocols. The work will start with a survey of existing post-quantum signature schemes and recent research on post-quantum secure consensus, highlighting different design approaches, including both direct replacement of classical signatures and protocol-level redesigns aimed at reducing or eliminating the reliance on signatures.
Building on this analysis, the student will study a state-of-the-art BFT protocol (e.g., HotStuff or related variants) and explore how post-quantum signatures can be incorporated, analyzing the resulting trade-offs in terms of security assumptions, communication complexity, and performance. Depending on time and interest, the work may include a prototype implementation and an experimental evaluation.
Type: Internship + Thesis
Level: MSc
Supervisors: Riccardo Longo (rlongo@fbk.eu), Alessandro Tomasi (altomasi@fbk.eu)
Prerequisites:
- Basic knowledge of cryptography (digital signatures, security models)
- Familiarity with distributed systems and consensus protocols
- Programming experience (e.g., C/C++, Rust, Go, or Python)
- Background in post-quantum cryptography or Byzantine consensus is a plus, but not strictly required
Objectives:
- Survey of post-quantum digital signature schemes and their properties
- Study of Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus protocols and their cryptographic building blocks
- Analysis of the impact of post-quantum signatures on consensus efficiency and scalability
- Design and/or evaluation of a post-quantum-aware BFT consensus solution
Topics: Post-Quantum Cryptography, Byzantine Fault Tolerant Consensus, Distributed Systems, Blockchain Protocols
Notes: Work in collaboration with the division "research on advanced technologies" of the Bank of Italy.
Automatic Security Testing Tool for Identity Management Protocols CLEANSE DAISY ST
ID: p-2026-st-1
Published on: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Deadline for Applications: Friday, 20 February 2026 at 23:59
Description:
Identity Management (IdM) protocols are the protocols supporting Single-Sign On (SSO) which is an authentication schema allowing the user to access different services using the same set of credentials. Two of the most known IdM protocols are SAML 2.0 SSO and OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect. Several solutions for corporations like Google, Facebook and for Public Administration like eIDAS and SPID are based on IdM protocols. We propose to investigate and develop methodologies and tools for assessing the security and robustness of IdM implementations. This activity may include the definition of reusable testing patterns, the design and implementation of extensions or plugins for existing security testing tools—such as Micro-Id-Gym (MIG)—and the execution of automated security and conformance tests on IdM implementations.
Type: Internship + Thesis
Levels: BSc, MSc
Supervisors: Andrea Bisegna (a.bisegna@fbk.eu), Laura Cristiano (l.cristiano@fbk.eu)
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Python
Objectives:
- Assess the security and robustness of IdM implementations, with a focus on SSO protocols such as SAML 2.0 and OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect;
- Develop methodologies and automated tools for security and conformance testing of IdM implementations, including extensions of MIG;
- Identify vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and non-conformities in real IdM implementations, providing actionable hints for their security.
Topics: Security testing, Identity management protocols, Security testing tools, Conformance testing