Nikita Tripathi
Cybersecurity Researcher · Software Engineer
Based in Calgary, AB, Canada
About Me
I design and implement cryptographic protocols such as post-quantum crypto (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD). I specialize in key exchange protocols (AKE, MAKE, KEM), IoT security, and entropy estimation.
Current Work I am implementing fast QKD Reconciliation and Privacy Amplification algorithms at Prof. Rei Safavi-Naeini's lab, University of Calgary.
Personal Interests I am pursuing a degree in Orthodox Christian Theology. In my free time, I like to swim, rock-climb, and bake bread.
Education
MSc, Computer Science
University of Calgary- Specialization: Post-Quantum Cryptography, Entropy Estimation, IoT Security
- Thesis: Entropy Estimation for Arbiter PUF and Applications to Authenticated Key Exchange
BSc, Computer Science
University of Calgary- First Class Honours
- Minor: Mathematics
Work Experience
Research Assistant (QKD)| University of Calgary
- Researched and implemented QKD Reconciliation for a range of sample lengths and quantum bit error rates (QBER).
- Tested rate-matched low density parity check codes from the 5G NR standard. Applied to QKD Reconciliation.
- Implemented several universal hash functions for QKD Privacy Amplification.
- Demonstrated real-life feasibility using client/server tests.
Research Assistant (TELUS R&D)| University of Calgary
- Researched, designed, and implemented 3 TELUS-funded post-quantum cryptography projects (IoT & biometrics).
- Wrote 50k+ lines of code (Python, Bash, MATLAB, C++); wrote test suites and documentation; scaled experiments on HPC.
- Analyzed 30+ state-of-the-art security protocols; identified critical security flaws and proposed solutions.
- Authored weekly technical reports; delivered 30+ R&D presentations to TELUS security leadership.
- Co-authored to 2 academic papers under review (NDSS ’26 – co-first author; IEEE TDSC – second author).
Security Analyst (SAST)| WOW Finstack
- Assessed security of Soft-HSM and 3-DS card-issuing APIs using SonarQube & OWASP Dependency-Check.
- Flagged critical CVEs and suggested remediation patches.
Teaching Assistant| University of Calgary
- Supported undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of computer science courses, including low-level programming, information security, applied cryptography, and information theory (graduate level).
- As a head TA, I led a team of 7 TA-s and assisted the professor, fostering communication, managing workloads, and resolving conflicts to ensure successful instruction and timely grading for a class of over 200 students.
- Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award (2020).
Software Engineer| BizNetX
- Developed front-end functionalities for a cryptocurrency pricing platform (ETH Price) in JavaScript and React.
- Contributed to the development of a project management platform (Eldocs) using JavaScript, React, Redux.
- Used Git for version control. Used HTML, CSS, and JS frameworks to contribute to various small projects.
Projects
Classical post-processing and information-theoretic key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) for quantum key distribution (QKD).
Python-based CLI tool to generate time-based one time passwords (TOTP) for two-factor authenticattion (2FA).
Quantum-resistant robust and reusable fuzzy extractor (rrFE) for biometric sources.