Chris Peikert receives Eurocrypt 2025 Test-of-Time Award

Chris Peikert, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, has been awarded the 2025 Eurocrypt Test-of-Time Award by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). Peikert and his coauthors, Vadim Lyubashevsky of IBM Research and Oded Regev of New York University, have been recognized for the lasting influence of their paper titled “On Ideal Lattices and Learning with Errors over Rings,” presented at Eurocrypt in 2010.

Eurocrypt, a premier international conference in this field organized by the IACR, gathers cryptographers from across the globe to share groundbreaking research and developments in cryptographic techniques. The Eurocrypt Test-of-Time Award is granted annually to a paper from 15 years prior that has demonstrated a lasting impact on the field of cryptology.

Peikert’s 2010 contribution, developed in collaboration with Lyubashevsky and Regev, was selected for its pioneering role in establishing a theoretical and practical foundation for efficient lattice-based cryptography. Their paper introduced the Ring-LWE (Learning with Errors over Rings) problem, a variant that incorporates algebraic structure to overcome significant inefficiencies associated with the original LWE problem. The Ring-LWE framework provides strong hardness guarantees, even against quantum algorithms, a critical step in maintaining data security.

This theoretical breakthrough paved the way for the development of the first truly practical lattice-based public-key cryptosystems with efficient security reductions. As a result, many cryptographic applications that initially relied on LWE have been made both faster and more secure through Ring-LWE, marking a significant advance in cryptographic protocol design.

The influence of Peikert’s work has been deeply felt across the cryptography field, inspiring further research and leading to the broad acceptance and implementation of lattice-based cryptography as the standard approach for post-quantum security. As his receipt of this award demonstrates, his contributions have helped shape the future of the field, enabling the development of robust and efficient cryptographic solutions in an increasingly complex digital landscape.