- Enables facial data processing in an encrypted state, powered by EFR’s core homomorphic encryption technology, CKKS.
- A cutting-edge security solution designed to withstand quantum computing, utilizing a cryptographic algorithm in the same family as the quantum-resistant encryption selected by the U.S. NIST.
SEOUL, South Korea, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CryptoLab, a cybersecurity company specializing in next-generation homomorphic encryption led by CEO Jung Hee Cheon announced on April 24 that it will unveil its Encrypted Facial Recognition (EFR) solution for the first time at RSA Conference 2025.
Reference Image of EFR Service
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the RSA Conference 2025 (RSAC) is the world’s largest cybersecurity conference, attracting over 45,000 participants. At this event, CryptoLab will showcase its EFR solution, which is based on Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology and aims to overcome the security limitations of conventional facial recognition systems.
Facial recognition technology is rapidly expanding across various sectors, including payment systems, access control, and smart cities. It is also being adopted at major international airports such as those in the U.S. (Denver), Incheon, and, Abu Dhabi. As the global trend shifts toward contactless, biometric-based automated boarding systems, facial recognition is increasingly becoming a critical component.
However, as facial recognition becomes more widespread, concerns over the leakage of personal biometric data are also growing. In fact, the “facial templates” stored in these systems — numerical representations of users’ unique biometric data — have been shown in studies to be capable of reconstructing original face images if leaked. This poses serious security risks, including identity theft and impersonation.
CryptoLab’s EFR solution presents a groundbreaking approach to these concerns. Not only does the EFR solution store facial templates in encrypted form, but it was also designed to perform the matching process in an encrypted state. This means that facial data remains encrypted throughout the entire processing workflow and is never decrypted at any point.
The key technology of EFR is the 4th-generation FHE algorithm, CKKS. CKKS is a lattice-based cryptographic scheme and belongs to the same family as ML-KEM and ML-DSA, quantum-resistant encryption algorithms selected by NIST (U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology). This positions EFR as a next-generation security solution designed to withstand not only current threats but also those posed by future quantum computing.
Thanks to GPU acceleration, the system can process tens of millions of facial templates in real-time, within milliseconds, and can scale linearly with demand, making it adaptable to a variety of enterprise environments. Its accuracy is comparable to that of plaintext-based facial recognition systems, setting a new standard in secure facial recognition technology.
CryptoLab’s EFR solution will be offered under a commercial license for enterprises and developers. More details can be found on the official EFR website: https://fhefr.com.
#Introduction of CryptoLab
CryptoLab is a startup founded in 2017 by Professor Jung Hee Cheon of the Demartment of Mathematical science. The company has developed core technology in post-quantum cryptography (PQC) which is secure against quantum computers and fully homomorphic encryption which enables computation on encrypted data (CKKS). CEO Jung Hee Cheon is the inventor of CKKS which is the latest 4th generation homomorphic encryption algorithm and is a globally renowned expert in the field. The company’s Chief Scientist, Damien Stehlé, is one of the authors of the CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dililthium algorithms, which have been selected as US NIST PQC Standards. CryptoLab is manned by a team of world-class experts in both FHE and PQC. Recently, two of CryptoLab’s algorithms, HAETAE and SMAUG-T, were selected as finalists in Korea’s national PQC competition.
In 2022, CryptoLab secured approximately 21 billion KRW in investment from Altos Ventures, Stonebridge Ventures, and Kiwoom Investment, affirming its technological leadership. In the same year, it was recognized as a leading company in homomorphic encryption by Gartner. CryptoLab is driving a paradigm shift in data security through close collaboration with major domestic and international enterprises.
SOURCE CryptoLab
