International Association for Cryptologic Research

Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems

Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (CHES) is a conference for cryptography research, focusing on the implementation of cryptographic algorithms. The two general areas treated are the efficient and the secure implementation of algorithms. Related topics such as random number generators, physical unclonable function or special-purpose cryptanalytical machines are also commonly covered at the workshop. It was first held in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1999 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). It was founded by Çetin Kaya Koç and Christof Paar. CHES 2000 was also held at WPI; after that, the conference has been held at various locations worldwide. After the two CHES' at WPI, the locations in the first ten years were, in chronological order, Paris, San Francisco, Cologne, Boston, Edinburgh, Yokohama, Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Lausanne. Since 2009, CHES rotates between the three continents Europe, North America and Asia. The attendance record was set by CHES 2018 in Amsterdam with about 600 participants.

Fast Software Encryption

Fast Software Encryption, often abbreviated FSE, is a workshop for cryptography research, focused on symmetric-key cryptography with an emphasis on fast, practical techniques, as opposed to theory. Though "encryption" is part of the conference title, it is not limited to encryption research; research on other symmetric techniques such as message authentication codes and hash functions is often presented there. FSE has been an IACR workshop since 2002, though the first FSE workshop was held in 1993. FSE is held annually in various locations worldwide, mostly in Europe. The dates of the workshop have varied over the years, but recently, it has been held in February.