The mission of the Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research is:

• To be an internationally recognized centre for research in applied cryptography and related areas of information security.
• To facilitate industrial participation and collaboration in leading-edge cryptographic research.
• To foster interdisciplinary collaboration between the Combinatorics and Optimization (C&O), Computer Science (CS), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and Pure Mathematics (PMath) departments within the University of Waterloo.
• To train students at the Masters and Phd levels.
• To provide a stimulating research environment for post-doctoral fellows.
• To host international researchers for visits of up to a year.
• To provide short courses to industrial partners.
• To provide industrial partners with access to various expertise at the University.