NSA, GCHQ, accused of hacking Belgian smartcard crypto guru

Professor Jean-Jacques Quisquater, a Belgian cryptographer whose work is said to have informed card payment systems worldwide, has reportedly become the victim of a spear-phishing attack by the NSA and/or GCHQ.

Belgium's De Standaaard reports that Professor Quisquater clicked on a fake LinkedIn invitation that infected his computer with something even nastier than the endless claims of industry leadership spouted by those most active on that network. The malware is said to have allowed tracking of the Professor's work, including consultancy for various firms.

Professor Quisquater's oeuvre, listed here at Google Scholar, bristles with cryptographic research. He also shared 2013's RSA Conference Award for Excellence in the Field of Mathematics for his work on “efficient zero-knowledge authentication schemes”. RSA's (PDF) notes for the award describe his efforts as “a seminal translation of cryptographic theory into practice” and as having “had a major impact on the early development of the smartcard industry.”