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Telecommunications IT
S
AIT And there was light! Security without obscurity

TR Modifying a telecommunications optical fibre to convert it into an ultra- IT security has become a critical issue in our

C POR sensitive biosensor capable of hunting down cancer cells – now there’s an companies. And in this particular field, François- C IN BRIEF Project name: CRASH -

original idea. In 2011, Christophe Caucheteur (UMONS) was awarded an ERC
Xavier Standaert, FNRS Senior Research Associate
CRyptographic Algorithms
ER Starting Grant for his PROSPER project. A momentum boost at UCLouvain, took his ideas further, obtaining two ER and Secure Hardware
successive ERC grants.
Type of grant:
ERC Starting Grant
For the researcher, “you mustn’t hesitate Dates : 2011 -2016
to go for it” if you believe in your ideas, n 2011, François-Xavier Standaert of administrative or civic tasks, I think
because it’s all worth the effort. “The ERC was awarded an ERC Starting Grant that their opacity is becoming increasingly
really allows you every freedom in your Ifor a project called CRASH. His aim unsatisfactory.” Project name: SWORD :
research – and that’s truly an opportunity”, was to assess the security of computer Security Without Obscurity for
he believes. Quite apart from the impact systems against physical attacks, i.e. The same language Reliable Devices
that these grants can have on a scientist’s attacks that rather than target encryption Type of grant:
career. “Unfortunately, research can be algorithms (mathematical attacks), target In order to guarantee security without ERC Consolidator Grant
a fragile environment, where many are the system support: sensitive information obscurity, it’s important to quantify the
called, but few are chosen due to the lack of is extracted from parameters such as the information contained in the physical Dates : 2017 -2022
funding”, he laments. “And I think that the power consumption of a chipcard. measures of a system, which requires
Starting Grant has weighed greatly in favour having total knowledge of it… to which
of my appointment to the position of FNRS Security and the designer, however, never has access. can produce results.” Another of the
Research Associate.” open model “We’re looking to establish bounds that take researcher’s beliefs is that because it
is difficult to incorporate short-term
Yet today, four years after the end of the this imperfect modelling into account. We scenarios, the SWORD project could not
ERC funding, Christophe Caucheteur has Since 2017, a second ERC grant, will then develop methods that limit the have been funded any other way than
Christophe Caucheteur, not given up on his project. “Research SWORD, has enabled him to pursue his physical information against a rival who by an ERC grant. “Considering a solution
FNRS Senior Research Associate, Electromagnetism continues, he confirms, and we are looking thinking on the physical security of IT would use the best model possible.” This without obscurity remains a paradigm
& Telecommunications, UMONS to finance a clinical study to develop the systems, moving on from the question gamble by the “smartest rival possible” shift compared with the current ecosystem,
dimension in vivo.” The funding has even of assessment to the question of then makes it possible to mathematically even though I think that in the long term,
enabled him, in association with other design. This can be looked at through amplify the security provided by physical it can only improve our way of designing
research, to set up a spin-off, B-Sens, two models. The first consists of not hypotheses. cryptographic objects.”
he idea was to insert this fibre Multidisciplinary: which aims to design chemical sensors giving any details about how the system
optic into the human body in fibre optics. “Even though we’re working operates, hoping that it will prevent A project like this, combining physical and Julie Luong
“Tto be able to detect certain the keyword on something different, ERC’s contribution a potential attacker from finding any mathematical data requires researcher
proteins that are significant biomarkers for To give life to his idea, the researcher is clear and has contributed extensively weak spots. This is known as security profiles that are fairly different. “One of
certain cancers and hence use it in areas surrounded himself with a towards creating a positive dynamic”, “by obscurity”. “It sometimes works in the the main interests of ERC projects is their
that are currently inaccessible to current multidisciplinary team. “We worked concludes the researcher. short term. But the fact of developing an duration”, comments François-Xavier
techniques”, summarises Christophe with the proteomics and microbiology object and not talking about it to (almost) Standaert. “You need time for engineers
Caucheteur, FNRS Senior Research department at UMONS and ULB’s Thibault Grandjean anyone involves a greater risk of forgetting and mathematicians to learn to speak
Associate at UMONS. BEAMS department, as well as with the flaws. It then often happens that security by to each other so that these interactions
Yet it was almost by chance that the gastroenterology and pulmonology obscurity collapses over time.”
researcher lodged his application. “10 departments at the Erasmus Hospital in The second option consists of basing
years ago, I didn’t even know what the Brussels. Thanks to them, we were able security on open hypotheses that can be
ERC was”, he muses. “I owe it to my thesis to take readings using fresh tissue from studied and quantified by the scientific
- FNRS.NEWS 121 - FEBRUARY 2021 a strategy that paid dividends, because at This strong collaborative dimension gave C IN BRIEF Project name: PROSPER - pragmatic: “As scientific knowledge grows, - FNRS.NEWS 121 - FEBRUARY 2021
biopsies, with a success rate of 85%. All
supervisor that I applied. He believed in the
community.
of which made the project very exciting”,
potential of my idea from the outset. I had
The interest of this solution is mainly
enthuses the researcher.
everything to gain from going for it.” It was
interest in security by obscurity diminishes.”
the time, creating this type of sensor was
genuine strength to his application. “With
For example, it is now recognised that
particularly innovative.
this type of proposal, you need to stress
for the design of encryption algorithms,
the multidisciplinary side of things and
“We really were the pioneers in this field”,
the open model is more secure. “The
Design of polymer optical
base it around a single objective, presented
recalls Christophe Caucheteur. “Especially
SWORD project conjectures that this open
fibre gratings for endoscopic
clearly. With this in mind, you also need
as we wanted to produce an instrument
model could apply to cryptographic objects,
biosensing purposes
to have a good international network and
capable of taking reading directing on
such as the chipcard.” From a societal
ERC Starting Grant
François-Xavier Standaert,
management skills is a real bonus.”
before.”
also be preferable. “In any event, with the
Dates : 2011 -2016
gradual disappearance of alternatives to
18 patients, which had never been done demonstrating that you have good project ER Type of grant: point of view, the open model would FNRS Senior Research Associate, Crypto Group, UCLouvain 19
the use of electronic objects in the context