Markus Schofnegger

Markus Schofnegger

Cryptography & Privacy

Biography

I’m an applied cryptographer in the area of efficient zero-knowledge proof systems. Before that, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Graz University of Technology, working at the ISEC. My research interests include modern zero-knowledge protocols such as STARKs and the design and analysis of symmetric primitives. I’m also an author of circuit-friendly hash functions including Poseidon, its faster successor Poseidon2, and Monolith, which are specifically tailored towards use cases of computational integrity and zero knowledge.

Interests

  • Zero-knowledge proof systems
  • Symmetric cryptography
  • Domain-specific designs for ZK, MPC, FHE, and signature applications
  • Efficient implementations

Education

  • PhD in Computer Science/Cryptography, 2022

    Graz University of Technology

  • MSc in Computer Science, 2018

    Graz University of Technology

  • BSc in Computer Science, 2015

    Graz University of Technology

Recent Publications

Note: The standard convention in this discipline is to list the authors in alphabetical order.

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Poseidon2b: A Binary Field Version of Poseidon2

We present Poseidon2b, a version of Poseidon2 defined over binary extension fields. It is specifically designed to inherit many of the …
Lorenzo Grassi, Dmitry Khovratovich, Katharina Koschatko, Christian Rechberger, Markus Schofnegger, Verena Schröppel
PDF

Skyscraper-v2: Fast Hashing on Big Primes

Arithmetic hash functions defined over prime fields have been actively developed and used in verifiable computation (VC) protocols. …
Clémence Bouvier, Lorenzo Grassi, Dmitry Khovratovich, Katharina Koschatko, Christian Rechberger, Fabian Schmid, Markus Schofnegger
PDF Code

Cache Timing Leakages in Zero-Knowledge Protocols

The area of modern zero-knowledge proof systems has seen a significant rise in popularity over the last couple of years, with new …
Shibam Mukherjee, Christian Rechberger, Markus Schofnegger
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Monolith: Circuit-Friendly Hash Functions with New Nonlinear Layers for Fast and Constant-Time Implementations

Hash functions are a crucial component in incrementally verifiable computation (IVC) protocols and applications. Among those, recursive …
Lorenzo Grassi, Dmitry Khovratovich, Reinhard Lüftenegger, Christian Rechberger, Markus Schofnegger, Roman Walch
PDF Code

Poseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function

Zero-knowledge proof systems for computational integrity have seen a rise in popularity in the last couple of years. One of the results …
Lorenzo Grassi, Dmitry Khovratovich, Markus Schofnegger
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Talks

Monolith: Fast Circuit-Friendly Hashing

This talk focuses on the Monolith hash function and presents it as a potential alternative to Poseidon and Poseidon2.
May 15, 2026 Remote

Panem et Circenses - Challenges in Rome

This talk will be about cryptographic challenges for our new witness encryption scheme and rewards for solving them.
May 12, 2026 Rome, Italy

Poseidon(2) Security - Where do we stand?

This talk focuses on the current situation regarding the cryptographic security of the Poseidon and Poseidon2 hash functions.
Mar 21, 2026 Remote

Implementation Characteristics of Hash Functions in Modern Proof Systems

While the algorithmic description of circuit-friendly hash functions is often straightforward, the underlying architecture allows for …
Feb 11, 2026 Vienna, Austria

Hardware in Modern Cryptography

Cryptographic protocols often start as software prototypes, yet ASIC and FPGA architectures can differ radically. We discuss some of …
Sep 11, 2025 Munich, Germany
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Teaching

I have been involved as a lecturer in the following courses at Graz University of Technology:

During my time at the university, I have also been supervising bachelor and master theses.

Contact