Encrypted Text Search via Homomorphic Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data custodians face challenges in providing search capabilities over private datasets without exposing sensitive information, as traditional search methods risk revealing personally identifiable information (PII) or other sensitive data, especially in scenarios like medical record access for research purposes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system using Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to create an encrypted search index, allowing for encrypted search queries to be processed without decrypting the data, using a binary search tree for efficient search operations and delegating search operations to a trusted third party, ensuring data and query privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional search methods are used on private datasets, then search functionality is provided, but sensitive information and PII are exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) as an intermediary mechanism that enables search operations on encrypted data without exposing the underlying information. The FHE system acts as a mediator between the search functionality and the private dataset, allowing computations to be performed on ciphertexts while maintaining data confidentiality throughout the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the data from plaintext to encrypted form using FHE, changing the state parameter of the data from readable to encrypted. This parameter change allows the data to maintain its usability for search operations while simultaneously protecting it from exposure, as the encrypted form cannot be directly interpreted or leaked.
2Reliability
If data is encrypted to protect privacy, then data security is improved, but search operations become more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies FHE encryption to the dataset in advance before any search operations are performed. This preliminary action of encrypting the data once allows subsequent search operations to be conducted on the encrypted form without requiring repeated encryption/decryption cycles, thereby reducing the complexity of ongoing search operations while maintaining security.
3Reliability
If data is encrypted to protect privacy, then data security is improved, but search operation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the encryption operation once in advance on the entire dataset, transforming it into FHE-encrypted form. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming encryption operations during each search operation, allowing searches to be conducted efficiently on pre-encrypted data while maintaining continuous security protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A first system receives an encrypted data vector representing a text search query from a second system and second encrypted data from a third system that may include a first vector and a second vector representing text of an electronic document. The first system may multiply the vectors by a random vector. The first system may determine a first difference between the encrypted data vector and the first vector, and a second difference between the encrypted data vector and the second vector. The first system may determine a product of the first and second difference. The first system may send the product to the third system and then receive a value representing the decrypted difference. The first system may determine if the value satisfies a condition and send the result of the determination to the second system.