Computing Blindfolded on Data Homomorphically Encrypted under Multiple Keys: An Extended Survey
This is an incremental survey that synthesizes existing methods for a niche problem in secure cloud computing, primarily relevant to researchers in cryptography and privacy-preserving data analysis.
The paper surveys cryptographic techniques for performing computations on data encrypted under multiple keys, addressing the challenge of secure multi-party computation in applications like genome-wide association studies.
New cryptographic techniques such as homomorphic encryption (HE) allow computations to be outsourced to and evaluated blindfolded in a resourceful cloud. These computations often require private data owned by multiple participants, engaging in joint evaluation of some functions. For example, Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) is becoming feasible because of recent proliferation of genome sequencing technology. Due to the sensitivity of genomic data, these data should be encrypted using different keys. However, supporting computation on ciphertexts encrypted under multiple keys is a non-trivial task. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey on different state-of-the-art cryptographic techniques and schemes that are commonly used. We review techniques and schemes including Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE), Proxy Re-Encryption (PRE), Threshold Homomorphic Encryption (ThHE), and Multi-Key Homomorphic Encryption (MKHE). We analyze them based on different system and security models, and examine their complexities. We share lessons learned and draw observations for designing better schemes with reduced overheads.