7th International Workshop on Lightweight Cryptography for Security & Privacy
LightSEC 2026 promotes and initiates novel research on security, privacy, and trust issues related to applications that fall under the umbrella of lightweight security. The term “lightweight” refers not only to conventional constraints on metrics such as computational and communication complexity, execution time (both throughput and latency), power, energy, area, memory capacity, and bandwidth, but also to constraints concerning the sizes of ciphertexts, public and private keys, and the compactness of proofs in zero-knowledge protocols. As new applications based on novel and advanced cryptographic schemes become increasingly ubiquitous and provide immense value to society across sectors such as AI, blockchain, IoT, and 5G/6G, they also impact a larger portion of the public, raising numerous security and privacy concerns that must be thoroughly addressed before widespread deployment. LightSEC 2026 enthusiastically welcomes papers on algorithms, protocols, techniques, and their secure and efficient implementations for applications utilizing advanced cryptographic algorithms such as homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computation, cryptographic consensus protocols in blockchain applications, threshold cryptography, and post-quantum cryptography.
Objective & Scope
The main objective of LightSec 2026 is to bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss:
- Lightweight Cryptography for IoT
- Resource-constrained Security Protocols
- Privacy in Edge Computing
- Efficient implementations of Post-Quantum Cryptography
Important Dates
| Paper submission deadline | June 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Author notification | August 21, 2026 |
| Camera ready for pre-conference proceedings | September 21, 2026 |
| Camera ready for post-conference proceedings | October 26, 2026 |
| Workshop date | October 9-10, 2026 |
Sponsoring Institutions
Contact Us
For any inquiries regarding LightSec 2026, please reach out to us at:
Call For Papers
LightSec 2026 enthusiastically welcomes papers on algorithms, protocols, techniques, and their secure and efficient implementations for applications utilizing advanced cryptographic algorithms.
Topics of Interest
We invite submissions on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:
- Design, analysis and implementation of lightweight cryptographic schemes
- Cryptographic hardware development for constrained domains
- Side channel and fault analysis and countermeasures
- Efficient and secure post-quantum cryptographic algorithms
- Security and privacy solutions for 5G/6G networks
- Security and privacy solutions for IoT
- Fast, efficient and secure acceleration solutions
- Cryptographic solutions for RISC-V ecosystem
- Lightweight solutions for privacy-preserving ML on edge
- Efficient cryptographic solutions for blockchain
- Formal methods for analysis of lightweight protocols
- AI for cryptography & Security implications of AI
Submission Instructions
Authors are invited to submit original research papers. All submissions will be double-blind peer-reviewed. Detailed formatting instructions and the submission link (EasyChair) will be provided here shortly.
The submissions must be anonymous with no author names, affiliations or obvious references. Submissions must not substantially duplicate work that any of the authors has published in a journal or a conference/workshop with proceedings or has submitted/is planning to submit before the author notification deadline to a journal or other conferences/workshops that have proceedings. Accepted submissions may not appear in any other conference or workshop that has proceedings.
The proceedings will be published in Springer-Verlag’s LNCS series. Hence, the final version of accepted papers will have to follow the LNCS guidelines using Springer’s standard fonts, font sizes, and margins with a total page limit of 20 pages including references and appendices.
Submissions to LightSec 2026 must follow the same format. Clearly marked supplementary materials may be appended without a page limit, but reviewers are neither required to read them nor will they be printed in the proceedings. Hence papers must be intelligible and self-contained within the 20 page bound.
Organization
General Chair
Ahmet Sınak
Akdeniz University, Türkiye
ahmetsinak@akdeniz.edu.tr
Program Co-Chairs
Aydın Aysu
Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, USA
aaysu@ncsu.edu
Elif Bilge
Kavun
Faculty of Computer Science, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
elif.kavun@barkhauseninstitut.org
Organizing Committee
- Murat Ak, Akdeniz University, Antalya
- Sedat Akleylek, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Mustafa Alkan, Akdeniz University, Antalya
- Melis Aslan, FAME CRYPT
- Aslı Bay, Antalya Bilim University, Antalya
- Orhun Kara, İzmir Institute of Technology, İzmir
- Neşe Koçak, ASELSAN
- Kamil Otal, TÜBİTAK-BİLGEM
- Mustafa Özdemir, Akdeniz University, Antalya
Program Committee
- Sedat Akleylek, University of Tartu
- Erdem Alkım, Ondokuz Mayıs University
- Aydın Aysu, North Carolina State University
- Reza Azarderakhsh, Florida Atlantic University
- Lejla Batina, Radboud University
- Christof Beierle, Ruhr University Bochum
- Shivam Bhasin, Nanyang Technological University
- Begül Bilgin, Rambus
- Rosario Cammarota, Intel Labs
- Yarkın Doröz, NVIDIA
- Krzysztof M. Gaj, George Mason University
- Shibam Ghosh, University of Haifa
- Lorenzo Grassi, Eindhoven University of Technology
- Tim Güneysu, Ruhr University Bochum
- Emad Heydari Beni, COSIC, KU Leuven & Nokia Bell Labs
- Orhun Kara, İzmir Institute of Technology
- Koray Karabina, University of Waterloo
- Elif Bilge Kavun, Dresden University of Technology
- Ayesha Khalid, Queen’s University Belfast
- Gregor Leander, Ruhr University Bochum
- Amir Moradi, Darmstadt Technical University
- Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, University of South Florida
- Debdeep Mukhopadhyay, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Köksal Mus, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Elisabeth Oswald, University of Birmingham
- Kamil Otal, TÜBİTAK BİLGEM
- Melek Önen, EURECOM
- Svetla Petkova-Nikova, KU Leuven
- Rachel Player, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Shahram Rasoolzadeh, Ruhr University Bochum
- Francisco Rodríguez-Henríquez, Technology Innovation Institute – Cryptography Research Centre
- Kurt Rohloff, Duality Technologies
- Erkay Savaş, Sabancı University
- Özgür Sinanoğlu, New York University Abu Dhabi
- Sujoy Sinha Roy, Graz University of Technology
- Meltem Sönmez Turan, NIST
- Cihangir Tezcan, Middle East Technical University
Venue & Travel
The conference will be held at Akdeniz University, located in the Konyaaltı district of Antalya.
How to Get There
From Antalya Airport (AYT)
By Taxi: Taxis are available 24/7 at the arrival terminals. The ride to the university takes about 25-30 minutes.
By Tram (Antray): You can take the tram from the Airport station directly to the city center and transfer to the bus lines or take the tram towards Fatih and get off at the nearest stop to the campus.
By Bus: Municipal bus number 600 or 800 connects the airport to the city center/bus terminal.
Arriving by Car
Akdeniz University is located near the D400 highway.
From West (Kemer/Muğla):
Follow D400 towards Antalya Center. The university will be on your right as you enter the
city.
Get
Directions →
From East (Airport(AYT)/Alanya/Side):
Follow D400 through the city, following signs for Akdeniz Universitesi.
Get
Directions →
From North (Istanbul/Ankara/Izmir):
Follow D650 and Antalya Bulvari towards Antalya City Center and then Dumlupinar Bulvari towards
Akdeniz University.
Get
Directions →
Parking is available on campus (Guest verification may be required at the gate).
Accommodation
We recommend the following accommodation option located directly on the university campus for your convenience.
Akdeniz University Social Facilities (Sosyal Tesisleri)
Location: Within the Akdeniz University Campus (Walking distance to the venue).
The Social Facilities offer comfortable rooms in a peaceful environment right next to the conference venue. It is the most convenient option for attendees.
Booking:
Please contact the facility directly to make a reservation, mentioning "LightSec 2026".
Phone: +90 242 227 44 00 (Placeholder)
Email: sosyaltesisler@akdeniz.edu.tr (Placeholder)
Social Program
Antalya offers a unique blend of history, nature, and sea. We have organized a main event, but also provide suggestions for those wishing to explore on their own.
Main Event: Rafting in Köprülü Canyon
Date: October 11, 2026
Join us for an adrenaline-filled day at Köprülü Canyon National Park. The rafting course is 14km long and suitable for beginners.
Alternative Recreation Suggestions
For participants who prefer to explore independently on October 11, here are our top recommendations:
History & City Life
Kaleiçi (Old Town): Explore the narrow streets, Hadrian's Gate, and the historic marina with boutique cafes.
Sea & Sun
Konyaaltı Beach: Just minutes from the university.
Phaselis: Ancient ruins nestled right on the shore of pristine bays.
Ancient Cities
Perge & Aspendos: Visit the best-preserved Roman theater in the world and the ancient capital of Pamphylia.
Nature
Olympos/Chimaera: Famous for its treehouses, ancient ruins, and the eternal flames (Yanartaş).