My main interest is of course cryptology. Though I have been working professionally in cryptology since October 2000, I have taken an amateur interest in the field since 1993; the work leading to the paper on Mercy was completed in my spare time. I have worked most on the design and cryptanalysis of symmetric primitives, but I'm interested in many other aspects including the design and use of public-key infrastructures, concrete security, password protocols and trust metrication.
However, I'm fascinated by a great variety of computer-related challenges. As my CV shows, I've turned my hand to some very different programming applications, from designing highly optimsed algorithms for subtle 2D and 3D graphics applications to low-level coding on embedded hardware. Interests pursued in my free time are just as eclectic, ranging from novel approaches to project management to programming language design.
I'm always pleased to learn new programming languages; my favourite languages are currently the VHLLs Perl and Python. At home I enjoy the practical challenges of Unix and Linux system and network administration on my own machine and on a colocated host that provides my email and Web hosting.