 The problem is simple, yet seemingly intractable: how to protect information via deep encryption, yet still allow for interaction with at least some of the data.
IBM reports a researcher in Armonk has solved a thorny mathematical problem that has confounded scientists since the invention of public-key encryption in 1976. The breakthrough is called “privacy homomorphism, or “fully homomorphic encryption,” and it makes possible the deep analysis of encrypted information ”“ data that has been intentionally scrambled ”“ without sacrificing confidentiality.
IBM researcher Craig Gentry in June used a mathematical model that allows people to fully interact with encrypted data in ways previously thought impossible. With the breakthrough, computer vendors storing the data of others will be able to fully analyze data on their clients’ behalf without expensive interaction with the client, and without seeing any of the private data. With Gentry’s technique, the analysis of encrypted information can yield the same detailed results as if the original data were fully visible to all.
The program might, for example, permit a computing vendor to analyze sales patterns, without exposing the original data.
Other potential applications include enabling filters to identify spam, even in encrypted email, or protecting information contained in electronic medical records, according to IBM, which says it might also one day enable computer users to retrieve information from a search engine with more confidentiality.
“At IBM, as we aim to help businesses and governments operate in more intelligent ways, we are also pursuing the future of privacy and security,” said IBM”™s Charles Lickel, vice president of software research. “We believe this breakthrough will enable businesses to make more informed decisions, based on more studied analysis, without compromising privacy.”
A full solution that achieves all the desired properties of homomorphic encryption did not exist until now. Gentry conducted research on privacy homomorphism while he was a summer student at IBM Research and while working on his Ph.D. at Stanford University.
IBM Research claims to possess the largest team of cryptography researchers outside of the academic and government communities.
