Call for Papers: ACNS 2026

The 24th International Conference on Applied Cryptography and Network Security (ACNS 2026) will be held from June 22–25, 2026, at the SUNY Global Center in New York City, USA.

ACNS is an annual conference focusing on current developments that advance the areas of applied cryptography, cyber security (including network and computer security), and privacy. The goal is to present both academic research works and advances on industrial and technical frontiers.

Topics of Interest

Submissions may focus on the modeling, design, analysis, development, deployment, integration, maintenance, performance, and usability of algorithms, protocols, standards, implementations, devices, as well as systems, standing in relation with applied cryptography, cyber security, and privacy, and advancing or bringing new insights to the state of the art. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Applied cryptography
• Artificial intelligence for security
• Automated security analysis
• Authentication, biometric security and privacy
• Blockchain security and privacy
• Cloud security and privacy
• Critical infrastructure security and privacy
• Cryptanalysis
• Cryptographic primitives and protocols
• Data protection
• Email, app, and web security and privacy
• Future Internet security and privacy
• Game-theoretic analysis of secure systems
• Hardware Security
• Identity management
• Internet fraud and cybercrime
• Internet-of-Things security and privacy
• Lightweight cryptography
• Malicious code and unsolicited software
• Metadata privacy and censorship resistance
• Mobile and wireless security
• Network security protocols
• Post-quantum security
• Privacy-enhancing technologies
• Secure distributed computing and consensus protocols
• Secure electronic voting
• Security and privacy metrics
• Security and privacy of systems based on ML and AI
• Side-channel analysis and physical attacks
• Systems security and privacy
• Trust management and trustworthy computing in networks or systems
• Usable security and privacy

Submission Types

ACNS solicits submissions for:

• Regular Papers: Presenting original research and advances.
• Systematization of Knowledge (SoK) Papers: Beyond summarizing previous research, these papers offer thorough examination, analysis, identification of gaps, and new perspectives on a given research area. Authors should prefix titles with "SoK:".
• Workshop Proposals: For specific topics at the forefront of cybersecurity research.

Important Dates

• First submission deadline: TBD
• Notification: TBD
• Camera ready: TBD
• Second submission deadline: TBD
• Notification: TBD
• Camera ready: TBD

(All deadlines are on the given day, 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth). The submission system opens two weeks before the deadline.)

Instructions for Authors

• Submission Platform: Submissions must be done via the HotCRP website (link to be announced).
• Presentation: ACNS 2026 will be an in-person conference. Remote presentations or videos will not be accepted. At least one author must present the paper at the conference in person.
• Originality: Submitted papers must not substantially overlap with already published or simultaneously submitted works.
• Anonymity: Submissions must be anonymous, with no author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, or obvious self-references.
• Format: All submissions must be in PDF format, following the unmodified LNCS format and typeset using the corresponding LaTeX class file.
• Page Limit: Up to 20 pages for the submission (including title, abstract, figures), excluding references. Supplementary material can be provided but reviewers are not obligated to read it.
• Camera-Ready Limit: Up to 30 pages for the final proceedings version.
• Ethical Considerations: For papers raising ethical concerns, authors must convince reviewers of proper procedures followed (e.g., IRB approval) and due diligence to minimize harm.

Awards

• Best Student Paper Award: 1500 EUR prize sponsored by Springer for papers with at least one full-time student author who presents the paper.
• Best Workshop Paper Award: 500 EUR prize sponsored by Springer.

Publication

The proceedings of ACNS 2026 will be published as a separate LNCS volume by Springer and archived in the Open Access IARIA ThinkMind Digital Library.