The International Conference on Cryptology and Network Security (CANS)
is a well-established forum for research in cryptography,
cybersecurity, and network security. CANS 2026 marks the 25th edition
of the conference and will be held in Wollongong, Australia, a coastal
city just south of Sydney, known for its beaches, dramatic escarpment,
and relaxed atmosphere.

CANS brings together researchers from both cryptography and
systems/network security, with an emphasis on work that bridges theory
and practice. The conference seeks academic, industry, and government
submissions on all theoretical and practical aspects of cryptology and
network security, and its extended domains in modern computing
systems.

Topics of Interest

Submissions are invited on all aspects of cryptology and network
security, including but not limited to:

Cryptography

    Public-key cryptography, including post-quantum cryptography
    Symmetric-key cryptography and cryptanalysis
    Hash functions, MACs, and authenticated encryption
    Zero-knowledge proofs and secure multiparty computation
    Fully homomorphic encryption and advanced cryptographic primitives
    Lattice-, code-, isogeny-, and other post-quantum systems
    Cryptographic protocols and formal security models

Systems and Network Security

    Network security and protocols
    Distributed systems security and consensus
    Cloud, edge, and IoT security
    Software and systems security
    Malware, intrusion detection, and threat analysis
    Privacy-enhancing technologies
    Applied cryptography in deployed systems

Cross-Cutting Topics

    Implementation security and side-channel analysis
    Hardware security
    Usable security and human factors
    AI/ML for security and security of AI systems
    Blockchain and decentralized systems
    Measurement studies and empirical security

Important Dates
Event 	Date
Paper Submission Deadline 	10 June 2026 (Extended to 19 June 2026, AoE)
Notification of Acceptance 	10 August 2026
Camera-ready 	17 August 2026
Registration for Authors 	24 August 2026
Early Bird 	By 1 October 2026
Conference 	23-25 November 2026
Submission Instructions

Submissions must present original work that has not been previously
published or submitted elsewhere. All submissions will be double-blind
and will undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

All Submissions must be fully anonymous with no author names,
affiliations, acknowledgments, or obvious references. Submissions must
be written in English and may include up to 20 pages of text and up to
10 pages for references and appendices, totaling no more than 30 pages
using Springer's LNCS package with no changes to the style. Papers
should be sufficiently intelligible and self-contained without
appendices so that PC members can make decisions without reading
appendices. Submissions not meeting the submission guidelines risk
rejection regardless of their merits.

The proceedings will be published by Springer-Verlag as a volume of
the Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. Authors of accepted
papers must guarantee that at least one of the authors will register
and attend the conference and present their paper.

Author instructions and LaTeX/Word templates for LNCS publications can
be found via the following link:
https://www.springer.com/gp/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines


Submission Server
Papers should be submitted via easychair at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=cans2026

AI Tool Policy

CANS 2026 plans to generally follow the ACM Policy on the use of AI tools.

If you have used any generative AI tools more than grammar and spell
checking, please disclose and describe your use of AI, either in the
text (including abstract and main body), appendix or in supplementary
material. This disclosure must include the AI version, prompt, query
and other information to the best of your ability.

The following is a paraphrased version of the ACM policy on AI tools.

Can I use generative AI software tools to prepare my manuscript?

Yes, the use of such tools is permitted, subject to the following requirements:

    That these systems do not plagiarize, misrepresent, or falsify
    content in ACM submissions.

    That the resulting Work in its totality is an accurate
    representation of the authors' underlying work and novel
    intellectual contributions and is not primarily the result of the
    tool's generative capabilities.

    That the authors accept responsibility for the veracity and
    correctness of all material in their Work, including any
    computer-generated material.

If I use generative AI software tools, under what conditions must I
disclose their use in my Work?

Today's generative AI software tools perform different tasks and it is
reasonable to expect that their use and use cases will expand and
become more robust over time. Whether disclosure in your published ACM
Work is necessary depends on how you utilize these tools. The
following guidelines should be followed when determining whether and
to what extent disclosure must be provided in your Work.

    If you are using generative AI software tools such as ChatGPT,
    Jasper, AI-Writer, Lex, or other similar tools to generate new
    content such as text, images, tables, code, etc. you must disclose
    their use in either the acknowledgements section of the Work or
    elsewhere in the Work prominently. The level of disclosure should
    be commensurate with the proportion of new text or content
    generated by these tools.

    If entire sections of a Work, including tables, graphs, images,
    and other content were generated by one of these tools, you should
    disclose which sections and which tools and tool versions you used
    to generate those sections by preparing an Appendix or a
    Supplementary Material document that describes the use, including
    but not limited to the specific tools and versions, the text of
    the prompts provided as input, and any post-generation editing
    (such as rephrasing the generated text). Authors should also note
    that the amount or type of generated text allowable may vary
    depending on the type of the section or paper affected. For
    example, using such tools to generate portions of a Related Work
    section is fundamentally different than generating novel results
    or interpretations.

    If the amount of text being generated is small (limited to phrases
    or sentences), then it would be sufficient to add a footnote to
    the relevant section of the submission utilizing the system(s) and
    include a general disclaimer in the Acknowledgements section.

    If you are using generative AI software tools to edit and improve
    the quality of your existing text in much the same way you would
    use a typing assistant like Grammarly to improve spelling,
    grammar, punctuation, clarity, engagement or to use a basic word
    processing system to correct spelling or grammar, it is not
    necessary to disclose such usage of these tools in your Work.

Can a generative AI tool be listed as an author?

No, generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
Why Attend CANS 2026?

    Balanced program committee spanning cryptography and systems security
    Single-track format encouraging interaction and discussion
    Accessible location, approximately 90 minutes from Sydney
       International Airport
    Coastal setting with beaches, national parks, and scenic views
    Timely focus on post-quantum transition and emerging security challenges

CANS is intentionally sized to promote depth of engagement over
breadth of parallel sessions.