Lúcás Meier
Co-Host of Cryptography FM
I’m Lúcás: currently a final year MSc student in Computer Science at EPFL.
My main interest is cryptography. I’ve done both applied work as well as more theoretical research. In particular, I like thinking about multiparty computation (MPC), zero-knowledge proofs, as well as engineering concerns like constant-time arithmetic and performance optimizations. I enjoy applying cutting edge techniques to real-world problems. There’s a virtuous cycle between the needs of users and pushing the frontier of research, and I like being in that loop.
I’ve also been programming since 2017 or so, and I try to have a somewhat public profile on the things I do. Topics I’ve enjoyed here include functional programming, distributed systems, and programming languages. I’ve programmed in a plethora of languages, but I mainly work in Rust, Go, and Python.
I also like math quite a bit; interests there include algebra and category theory.
Lúcás Meier has hosted three Episodes.
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Episode 24: CryptoHack's Collection of Cryptic Conundrums!
February 27th, 2023 | 49 mins 18 secs
learning
For several years, CryptoHack has been a free platform for learning modern cryptography through fun and challenging programming puzzles. From toy ciphers to post-quantum cryptography, CryptoHack has a wide-ranging and ever increasing library of puzzles for both the aspiring and accomplished cryptographer. On this episode, Nadim and Lucas are joined by Giacomo Pope and Laurence Tennant, the founders of CryptoHack, to discuss how the platform came to be, and how it evolved, as well as how to improve cryptographic pedagogy more broadly.
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Episode 23: Psychic Signatures in Java!
January 25th, 2023 | 53 mins 20 secs
signatures
Nadim and Lucas talk to Neil Madden about his discovery of the "Psychic Signatures" vulnerability in Java, allowing attackers to completely bypass cryptographic signature checks in Java platforms in highly sensitive security contexts.
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Episode 22: Three Lessons from Threema: Breaking a Secure Messenger!
January 16th, 2023 | 52 mins 12 secs
secure messaging
Threema is a Swiss encrypted messaging application. It has more than 10 million users and more than 7000 on-premise customers. Prominent users of Threema include the Swiss Government and the Swiss Army, as well as the current Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz. Threema has been widely advertised as a secure alternative to other messengers.
Kenny, Kien and Matteo from the ETH Zurich Applied Cryptography Group present seven attacks against the cryptographic protocols used by Threema, in three distinct threat models. All the attacks are accompanied by proof-of-concept implementations that demonstrate their feasibility in practice.