The SICADA (Side-Channel Analysis Design Academy) laboratory led by Professor Han Dong-Guk of the Department of Information Security and Cryptography at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) achieved outstanding research results at the “2026 Summer Conference of the Korean Information Security Society,” held from May 7 to 8, 2026.

△ Photo from the 2026 Summer Conference of the Korean Information Security Society

Seongbin Oh, a student in the SICADA Lab (Master’s program in Cybersecurity, Class of 2026), received the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Award for his research titled “Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Validation of Code Polymorphism-Based Countermeasures Against Side-Channel Analysis.”

This research is significant for proposing a methodology that allows for the theoretical prediction of the security level of code polymorphism-based countermeasures against side-channel analysis threats that may occur in actual equipment, right from the design stage. It is expected to contribute to reducing development time and costs by streamlining the design, implementation, and security analysis procedures that are repeatedly performed during the cryptographic implementation process.

Professor Han Dong-Guk’s SICADA laboratory conducts research on side-channel analysis (SCA) and fault injection attacks (FIA) targeting post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and block ciphers. The lab evaluates security vulnerabilities in commercial equipment, such as drones, using statistical side-channel analysis, deep learning-based analysis, and fault injection attacks, and researches secure cryptographic implementation technologies to address these vulnerabilities.

Recently, the SICADA Lab received the Chungmugong Award, the second-place prize in the 2025 Patent Technology Awards, for its side-channel attack-resistant technology for post-quantum cryptography that is also secure against quantum computing attacks. Additionally, the lab was selected as the lead institution for the “Glocal Lab Defense Technology Protection Research Institute,” a project supported by the Ministry of Education. To help defense and military companies secure global competitiveness in the field of weapons system security, the lab is receiving 2.4 billion won annually for nine years, totaling 21.6 billion won in government funding.

Professor Han Dong-Guk stated, “This award recognizes the excellence of the cryptographic implementation security research conducted by our laboratory,” adding, “We will continue to advance core technologies that counter side-channel analysis and error-injection attacks to contribute to the development of secure information protection technologies.”