Cryptology and Network Security—CANS 2026

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will comprise mainly extended versions of papers presented at the 25th International Conference on Cryptology and Network Security (CANS 2026, held in Wollongong, Australia; https://uow-ic2.github.io/cans2026/index.html). This Special Issue also seeks original papers presenting novel research results on all aspects of cryptology, cybersecurity, and network security.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

• Public-key and Symmetric-key Cryptography (including Post-Quantum Cryptography);
• Cryptographic Protocols, ZKP, and Secure Multiparty Computation;
• Fully Homomorphic Encryption and Advanced Cryptographic Primitives;
• Network, Cloud, Edge, and IoT Security;
• Software, Systems, and Distributed Systems Security;
• Privacy-Enhancing Technologies and Anonymity;
• Side-Channel Analysis, Hardware, and Implementation Security;
• AI/ML for Security and Security of AI Systems;
• Blockchain, Consensus, and Decentralized Systems;
• Applied Cryptography in Deployed Systems

Submitted manuscripts should not have been previously published, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Extended versions of CANS 2026 papers must cite the original conference paper, provide sufficient technical extensions or new evaluations, and not exceed 30% copy/paste from the original paper.

This Special Issue also welcomes original research papers (not previously presented at CANS 2026) that bridge theory and practice across modern computing systems.

Dr. Yudi Zhang
Dr. Nan Li
Prof. Dr. Craig Costello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cryptography is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.