COSIC

The Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography research group, commonly called COSIC, is a research group at the Department of Electrical Engineering of KU Leuven, which is headed by Bart Preneel.^[2]

Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography

Abbreviation	COSIC
Formation	1979; 46 years ago (1979)[1]
Purpose	The COSIC research group provides a broad expertise in digital security and strives for innovative security services.
Location	Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Leuven)
Leader	Bart Preneel Ingrid Verbauwhede Vincent Rijmen Claudia Diaz Nele Mentens Fréderik Vercauteren Nigel Smart
Main organ	KU Leuven
Website	www.esat.kuleuven.be/cosic/

Research

Research and expertise in digital security:^[3]

• Security architectures for information and communication systems
• Cryptographic algorithms and protocols
  • Symmetric key
  • Public key
  • Post-quantum
• Security for embedded systems
• Privacy-preserving systems

Applications:

• Cloud
• Automotive
• Privacy
• Data Protection
• Trusted Systems
• E-payments
• E-documents
• ...

AES

One of the well-known successes is the selection of Rijndael as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Currently AES is used by millions of users in more than thousand products, such as the protection of US government information.

Research projects

COSIC has participated in over 50 European research projects.^[1]

IMEC

COSIC is part of the Smart Applications and Innovation Services of IMEC.^[1]