Call for Papers

The inaugural Quantum Security and Privacy (QSec) Workshop invites contributions at the intersection of quantum technologies and security and privacy, with a particular focus on securing end-to-end systems and safeguarding data and code in the quantum computing era. The workshop will explore both the evolving landscape of quantum threats (posed by adversaries with quantum computing or sensing capabilities) and the expanding landscape of threats to quantum technologies (posed by classical or quantum adversaries). Participants will also present countermeasures and innovative solutions—ranging from hybrid cryptographic schemes to protocols protecting fragile near-term quantum systems.

Topics of Interest

We welcome submissions on all aspects of quantum security and privacy, including but not limited to:

Security and Privacy of Communication

• Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for secure channels
• Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) implementations in networking
• Hybrid quantum-classical cryptographic architectures
• Quantum-enabled authentication, identity management, and access control mechanisms

Experimental and Theoretical Quantum Security

• Formal analysis of quantum security models and protocols
• Experimental demonstrations of quantum-secure systems
• Benchmarking quantum cryptographic protocols and security measures

Security and Privacy of Applications

• Algorithms and frameworks for quantum-resistant network security
• Privacy in quantum-enhanced data processing and storage
• Quantum methods for securing decentralized systems (e.g., blockchain)
• Privacy-preserving techniques for quantum-enhanced AI and machine learning

Privacy and Ethical Considerations

• Ethical implications of quantum computing for user privacy
• Risk analysis and mitigation strategies for quantum-enhanced systems
• Legal and regulatory challenges in deploying quantum security technologies

Important Dates

Submission Types

• Full Papers (up to 12 pages, incl. references): Significant theoretical, algorithmic, or experimental contributions.
• Short Papers (up to 6 pages, incl. references): Emerging ideas, novel applications, or preliminary results.
• Blue Sky Ideas (up to 3 pages, incl. references): Visionary proposals, long-term challenges, and debate topics.

Paper Submission Information

All submissions must be received by 11:59 PM AoE (UTC-12) on the day of the corresponding deadline. Submitted papers must not substantially overlap with papers that have been published or accepted for publication, or that are simultaneously in submission to a journal, conference, or workshop with published proceedings. All submissions should be properly anonymized.

Papers should avoid revealing authors’ identity in the text. When referring to their previous work, authors are required to cite their papers in the third person, without identifying themselves. In the unusual case in which a third-person reference is infeasible, authors can blind the reference itself. Papers not properly anonymized may be rejected without review. Authors may submit up to a maximum of 7 papers.

All submitted papers will be evaluated based on their merits, particularly their importance to practical aspects of quantum security and privacy, novelty, quality of execution, and presentation. For papers that might raise ethical concerns, authors are expected to convince reviewers that proper procedures (such as IRB approval or responsible disclosure) have been followed, and due diligence has been made to minimize potential harm.

Submitted papers may be rejected for being out of scope, at the discretion of the PC chairs. Authors who have questions about whether their paper is in scope are encouraged to ask the PC chairs in advance. No modifications to the author list on a paper may be made after submission.

Withdrawing Policy

A paper can be withdrawn at any point until the publication date, i.e., date of the workshop.

Paper Format

Submissions must be a PDF file in double-column ACM format using “sigconf” 2-column format, no more than 12 pages for full, 6 pages for short, and 3 pages for blue sky ideas, including the bibliography, well-marked appendices, and supplementary material. Note that reviewers are not required to read the appendices or any supplementary material. Authors should not change the font or the margins of the ACM format. The CCS information such as concepts, keywords, or rights management information (e.g., DOI and ISBN) must be retained. The teaser figure is optional. Please refer to the sample-sigconf.tex and sample-sigconf.pdf in the ACM package (also mirrored on Overleaf here) as an example. Submissions not following the required format may be rejected without review.

Conflicts of Interest

The conference requires cooperation from both authors and program-committee members to ensure a fair review process. For this purpose, authors must report all program-committee members who, in their opinion, have a conflict of interest and therefore may not be able to provide an unbiased review. Mandatory declared conflicts of interest include current or former doctoral advisor/advisee, members of the same institution, close family members, and recent co-authors (within the past 2 years). For any other declared conflict, authors are required to explain the nature of the conflict at the time of paper submission, which will be reviewed by the Program Chairs. The chairs reserve the right to request further explanation and can remove non-mandatory conflicts at their discretion.

Policy for Peer-Review Integrity

All SIGSAC sponsored conferences and workshops are required to follow ACM policies against harassment activities and ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Also all authors, PC members and non-PC reviewers are required to follow ACM Publications Policies. Particularly, we require all reviewers to uphold the integrity of the peer review process and avoid conflict of interest of any form (e.g., reviewer collusion ring). Those who violate these policies will be penalized according to ACM policies. If you would like to report a violation, please contact program chairs of your conferences/workshops or SIGSAC officers. We are committed to protecting the confidentiality of your communication.

Please Note: The official publication date is the first day of the conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work.

Diversity and Inclusion

ACM CCS and QSec is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in our community. If you have suggestions, concerns, or complaints related to biases or sexual harassment, we encourage you to reach out to the Program Chairs. We are committed to protecting the anonymity of such reports and helping to address your concerns. We value your feedback and ideas to help us all build a healthier and more welcoming community.

We encourage the authors to be mindful of not using language or examples that further the marginalization, stereotyping, or erasure of any group of people, especially historically marginalized and/or under-represented groups (URGs) in computing. Of course, exclusionary treatment can arise unintentionally. Be vigilant and actively guard against such issues in your writing. Reviewers will also be empowered to monitor and demand changes if such issues arise in your submissions. Please check the link for more information.

Agreements

By submitting your article to an ACM Publication, you are hereby acknowledging that you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM’s new Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects. Alleged violations of this policy or any ACM Publications Policy will be investigated by ACM and may result in a full retraction of your paper, in addition to other potential penalties, as per ACM Publications Policy.

Please ensure that you and your co-authors obtain an ORCID ID, so you can complete the publishing process for your accepted paper. ACM has been involved in ORCID from the start and we have recently made a commitment to collect ORCID IDs from all of our published authors. The collection process has started and will roll out as a requirement throughout 2022. We are committed to improve author discoverability, ensure proper attribution and contribute to ongoing community efforts around name normalization; your ORCID ID will help in these efforts.