Spring School on Symmetric Cryptography

(SoSC 2026)

March 16-18, 2026 - Singapore, Singapore
affiliated with FSE 2026

The 2nd Spring School on Symmetric Cryptography takes places 16 – 18 March 2026 in Singapore, Singapore (one week before FSE 2026). It covers a broad spectrum within the field of symmetric cryptography and is organized in cooperation with IACR.

The program features three internationally renowned researchers, each dedicating an entire day to their specialized topic. Each day begins with morning lectures, where the students can absorb cutting-edge knowledge and theoretical insights directly from leading experts. In the afternoon, hands-on exercises enable participants to apply what they’ve learned, reinforcing their understanding through practical application.

This spring school is primarily intended for early PhD students and Master’s students in their last year of studies.

Previous Editions

SoSC 2025 affiliated with FSE 2025 in Rome, Italy.

Organizers

Christof Beierle (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)

Gregor Leander (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)

Shahram Rasoolzadeh (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)

Shichang Wang (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Lecturers

Kai Hu

Shandong University, Qingdao, China.

Kai Hu has been a Research Professor at Shandong University, China, since November 2023. He received his Ph.D. in June 2021 under the supervision of Professor Meiqin Wang and subsequently held a postdoctoral position at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in the research group of Professor Thomas Peyrin. His research focuses on the cryptanalysis of symmetric-key cryptographic primitives. To date, he has authored or co-authored 18 papers published in conferences and journals of the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). His doctoral dissertation was awarded the Best Thesis Award by the China Association for Cryptologic Research (CACR), and he has also received the CACR Outstanding Youth Award in recognition of his early-career achievements.

Kazuhiko Minematsu

NEC, Kawasaki, Japan.

Kazuhiko Minematsu joined NEC since 1998 and works as Research Fellow since 2020. He received Dr.S degree from Waseda University, Japan, in 2008. His research interests are design and analysis of symmetric-key ciphers and its application systems. He served as a visiting professor at Yokohama National University from 2019 to 2025. Since 2013 to 2017 he joined CRYPTREC Lightweight Cryptography Working Group, a Japanese cryptography standardization project on lightweight cryptography. He received the best paper awards at FSE 2015 and CRYPTO 2019. More information is available from https://www.nec.com/en/global/rd/people/kazuhiko_minematsu.html

Ling Song

Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Ling Song is a Professor at Jinan University, China. Before, she was a researcher at the Institute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a postdoctoral researcher with the Cryptanalysis Taskforce, led by Professor Jian Guo at Nanyang Technological University. Her primary research interest lies in the cryptanalysis of symmetric cryptographic algorithms.

Program

	Monday 16th March

08:30 – 09:00	Registration and Opening
09:00 – 10:30	1st Lecture by Ling Song
	Designing Primitives and Basic Cryptanalysis
10:30 – 11:00	Coffee & Tea Break
11:00 – 12:30	2nd Lecture by Ling Song
12:30 – 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 – 14:30	3rd Lecture by Ling Song
14:30 – 15:00	Coffee & Tea Break
15:00 – 16:30	Exercises by Ling Song
16:30 – 16:45	Break
16:45 – 18:00	Students‘ Session 1

	Tuesday 17th March

09:00 – 10:30	1st Lecture by Kazuhiko Minematsu
	Provable Security in Symmetric Cryptography
10:30 – 11:00	Coffee & Tea Break
11:00 – 12:30	2nd Lecture by Kazuhiko Minematsu
12:30 – 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 – 14:30	3rd Lecture by Kazuhiko Minematsu
14:30 – 15:00	Coffee & Tea Break
15:00 – 16:30	Exercises by Kazuhiko Minematsu
16:30 – 16:45	Break
16:45 – 18:00	Students‘ Session 2

	Wednesday 18th March

09:00 – 10:30	1st Lecture by Kai Hu
	Advanced Cryptanalysis Techniques and Tools
10:30 – 11:00	Coffee & Tea Break
11:00 – 12:30	2nd Lecture by Kai Hu
12:30 – 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 – 14:30	3rd Lecture by Kai Hu
14:30 – 15:00	Coffee & Tea Break
15:00 – 16:30	Exercises by Kai Hu
16:30 – 16:45	Break
16:45 – 18:00	Students‘ Session 3

Due to a limit on the number of attendees, we will select students based on the relevance of their research studies on a first-come, first-served basis.

First Name

Last Name

Affiliation (University/Institute, City, Country)

E-Mail Address

Academic Level

Your motivation to attend the spring school (max. 500 characters)

Photo and Film Recordings

I agree that photographs and film recordings may be made of me during the event. These recordings will be used for event documentation and reporting on the event. The pictures and film recordings may be displayed on our websites, in print media and social media channels.

The Spring School takes place at

Nanyang Technological University 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the school, please contact the organizers using the email provided for the spring school:

symmetric.crypto.spring.school@gmail.com

Photo by: tawatchai07 @ freepik.com