STORK public documents
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STORK is a thematic network funded within the Information Societies Technology (IST) Programme of the European Commission's Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) under contract number IST-2002-38273. It is one of 25 roadmap projects within Key Action II with the objective to prepare the ground for research initiatives in the upcoming Sixth Framework Program (FP6). The STORK project intends to establish the framework for a European Network of Excellence in Cryptology, that will be the core of European research in the domain. The project started on July 1, 2002; the project duration is 12 months.

Cryptology is the study of mathematical techniques in order to provide secrecy, authenticity and related properties for digital information. Therefore it is a fundamental enabler for security in the Information Society. Cryptology is at the core of computer security, of secure data transmission over shared networks, of digital identification and digital signatures, etc. Its applications vary from e-commerce and on-line payment systems to mobile phone protocols. Cryptology also provides us with basic building blocks for privacy enhancing techniques, guarding the legitimate rights of individuals to privacy.

While some effort has already been made in the area of cryptology, there is still an important need for diffusion of cryptologic expertise from cryptology research and academic education to industry, and conversely cryptologic research is not sufficiently driven by industry's needs. The lack of communication between research and industry often leads to the industry setting 'de-facto' standards without a firm cryptologic foundation; frequently, these standards that later turn out to have serious flaws which results in direct financial losses and loss of confidence. The current development of the Information Society is a continuous source of new problems and challenges, and new contexts where cryptologic techniques need to be applied.

European research and industry has obtained many remarkable achievements in cryptology, but it suffers from its dispersion all around Europe. The STORK project aims at solving this problem by providing a platform for interchanging ideas and formulating a common research agenda. STORK's main objectives are:

• to propose a coherent research roadmap for cryptologic research and development within FP6; this will describe the critical goals and challenges facing the providers and users of cryptology; it will be based on a broad consensus and reflect global requirements for future cryptographic algorithms and techniques.
• to establish and to maintain a constituency of relevant interests and stakeholders in the area of cryptology and its applications beyond the STORK project consortium; this will include the users and providers of cryptographic solutions and products as well as the research community;
• to identify the gaps between the state of the art in cryptologic research and current and forthcoming requirements for cryptographic algorithms and techniques;
• to develop a shared agenda for research in cryptology;
• to lay the groundwork for a Network of Excellence in Cryptology, under the 6th Framework Programme, to pursue and maintain the research agenda.  This network will be the core of European research in the domain, and will improve communication and collaboration between cryptologic researchers, industrial bodies driving requirements for cryptology, and researchers in fields that influence the development of cryptology.

If you are interested in finding out more or getting involved in the STORK project and related activities towards the Sixth Framework Program:

• comment on our public deliverables
• contact us directly.