French expert joins Korean startup CryptoLab as chief scientist

Professor Damien Stehle of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Lyon, France.

A South Korean startup at the forefront of next-generation cryptographic technologies has recently welcomed a prominent French luminary.

CryptoLab Inc., a pioneer in the field of fully homomorphic encryption, has announced that it has recruited Professor Damien Stehle of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Lyon, France, to its team. Stehle will take on the role of chief scientist.

Homomorphic encryption (HE) is a next-generation security technology that enables data to be computed and used in an encrypted state.

Some of the leading market research firms have identified HE as a game-changer in the cybersecurity field due to its ability to process sensitive personal data while remaining free from the risks of personal data breach.

CryptoLab was founded by Professor Cheon Jung-hee of Seoul National University as an in-house venture. Despite the challenging climate for startups, the company managed to attract 21 billion won ($15.7 million) in funding last year.

Stehle is a renowned scholar for developing post-quantum cryptography (PQC) that is impenetrable even for future super quantum computers.

Two cryptographic systems related to PQC proposed by Stehlé and his team have been designated as official standards by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Stehle explained the reason he joined CryptoLab during a recent interview with Maeil Business Newspaper at the CryptoLab office in Seoul.

“I joined CryptoLab in April because the company possesses the most advanced technology compared to other homomorphic encryption companies,” said Stehle. He added that he will be leading the French branch for the company.

France is a top-tier mathematical powerhouse, having received 13 Fields Medal which is considered as a Nobel Prize by mathematicians. In France, there has been a growing trend of companies recruiting mathematicians. Recruitment of Stehle can be seen as an example of this trend.

“It is fair to say that this is the first collaboration between Korea and France in the perspective of the IT field‘s Deep Technology,” Cheon added.

Stehle assessed that countries like the U.S., Europe, and Japan are leading the domain of “next-generation cryptograph” such as PQC and HE.

In the case of the U.S., they are actively transitioning to PQC in their national cryptographic systems to prepare for future hacking attempts by China using quantum computers.

“While the U.S. is forcefully changing its cryptographic systems, European countries are only making recommendations given its nature as a union of different nations,” Stehle noted. “Countries like Korea, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are rapidly climbing up as a second-tier group. Korea, with its unique status as a divided nation, is taking proactive measures to protect its industries by developing the KPQC. Korea is conducting fairly open research.”

In contrast, countries like China and Russia are developing next-generation quantum cryptography. However, it is not top-notch in the researchers’ perspective, according to Stehle.

This is especially true in China where the research findings are not being fully disclosed.

“There has been a corresponding rise in the development of Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET) as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation is becoming more stringent. CryptoLab’s FHE stands as a quintessential example of PET,” the professor said.