Keerthi K's profile picture
"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." - Amelia Earhart

Hello! I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at Temasek Laboratories, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where my research focuses on a wide range of topics in hardware security. My current work involves the development of advanced fault injection and side-channel analysis frameworks to evaluate and break embedded cryptographic implementations, as well as analyzing the resilience of secure boot mechanisms in microcontrollers and SoCs.

Prior to this, I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Madras, under the supervision of Prof. Chester Rebeiro. My doctoral research explored multiple facets of fault analysis, vulnerability detection, and the design of effective countermeasures using formal verification and program analysis techniques.

Area of Interests

Hardware Security • Fault Attack • Side Channel Analysis • Cryptography • Post Quantum cryptography

Latest News

  • June 2025: IBM Best PhD Thesis Award and Best PhD Thesis in the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras
  • April 2025: Technical Program Committee, AIHWS Workshop
  • October 2024: Joined as a PostDoc at NTU Singapore
  • August 2024: PhD Thesis Defence

Publications

Journal and Conference Papers

Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro
ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems, 2024
Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro
Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems,2023
Keerthi K, Indrani Roy, Chester Rebeiro, Aritra Hazra, Swarup Bhunia
Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, 2020
Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro, Aritra Hazra
ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems, 2018
Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro
53rd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks - Supplemental Volume, 2023
Jacob Samuel, Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro, Werner Schreiber, Geopeter Moothedan, Ralph Mader
11th European Congress Embedded Real Time Systems, 2022
Keerthi K, Indrani Roy, Chester Rebeiro, Aritra Hazra
Security and Fault Tolerance in Internet of Things, 2019

Posters

Compiler Assisted Automated Security Countermeasures for Embedded Crypto-Software
Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro
ACM ARCS, 2024
Keerthi K, Indrani Roy, Chester Rebeiro, Aritra Hazra, Swarup Bhunia
Tenth International Conference on Security, Privacy and Applied Cryptographic Engineering, 2020
Keerthi K, Chester Rebeiro
2nd ISEA International Conference on Security and Privacy, 2019
Bifrost: A Low-Cost Covert Data Exfiltration via Smart Bulb
Keerthi K, Saurav Das, Muhammad Arsath, Sugandha Tiwari, Chester Rebeiro
Shastra TCS Poster Presentation, IIT Madras, 2019

Awards & Recognition

Best PhD Thesis in the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, 2025
IBM Best PhD Thesis Award, 2025
Awarded by Indian Institute of Technology Madras for outstanding doctoral research
Microsoft Research India Travel Grants, 2023
Sponsored by Microsoft Research India for attending top-tier computer science research conferences
ACM Travel Grants,2023
To attend ESWEEK 2023
IEEE Travel Grants, 2023
To attend DSN 2023
Best Student Paper Presentation Award
Smart City Conference, 2023
64th Institute Day Prize for Bro.C.Selvam Endowment Award, 2023
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Institute Research Award, 2022
For the quality of research, awarded by Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Huawei Fellowship for Excellence, 2022
Awarded for outstanding academic performance and research contributions
Star TA Award, 2029, 2021
From Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Madras
Third Prize at Applied Research Competition, 2020
TCS Research Fellowship (Cycle 16), 2020
TCS Research Scholarship Program for Computer Science PhDs in India
AWSAR Award, 2019
One of the top 100 Science story (Rank 41) conducted in India across all scientific fields by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India
Third Prize at Applied Research Competition, 2019
Best Poster Award at PhD Forum, 2019

Professional Services

  • Technical Program Committee AIHWS 2025, VLSID 2025, ATS 2024
  • Reviewer for COSADE conference, 2023 - 2024
  • Reviewer for IEEE TCAD, - 2020,2021,2023,2024
  • Reviewer for Journal of Hardware and Systems Security (HASS) - 2020

Mentoring & Supervision

  • Mentored undergraduate students in research projects related to hardware security
  • Co-supervised master's thesis projects on vulnerability analysis
  • Teaching Assistant for multiple courses at IIT Madras (recognized with Star TA Awards)

Through my Brush