Design of Workload-optimised FHE Accelerator Unit on FPGA via High-level Synthesis

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) is an advanced cryptographic paradigm for computing over encrypted data without trivial decryption, allowing the processing of sensitive data on outsourced platforms in a confidential manner. The goal of this work is to develop a robust FPGA-based deployment platform for state-of-the-art FHE algorithms using high-level synthesis. 
The objective of this internship would be: 

1. Comparative study and evaluation of state-of-the-art FHE algorithms of different flavors for real-life large-scale workloads; 
2. Identifying performance (and area) oriented implementation strategies and necessary parameter choices for FPGA-based custom implementation; 
3. Implementing the finalized FHE architecture using state-of-the-art High-Level Synthesis (HLS) tools for the target FPGA platform; 
4. Characterizing real-life workloads on this platform and identifying bottlenecks and/or advantages for large scale deployment of FHE with custom accelerator backend. 

This development activity is intended to identify the suitability and bottlenecks in the traditional high-level implementation approach for the hardware-based execution of FHE. The knowledge gained in the process will serve as a critical study for practical FHE hardware designs and establish a baseline for the performance of hardware-based execution. 

Type of Project: Internship 

Required background: Pursuing Masters in a relevant Engineering discipline with courses in Computer Architecture and RTL Design (hands-on experience with HLS tools for FPGA and/or knowledge of basic number theory and cryptography is a plus).

Master's degree: Master of Engineering Science; Master of Engineering Technology; Master of Science Language requirements: English 

Master program: Computer Science; Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering 

Duration: 3-6 Months 

For more information or application, please contact Arnab Bag (arnab.bag@imec.be).

Imec allowance will be provided for students studying at a non-Belgian university.