Hierarchical Multiparty Encryption for Federated IoT Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multiparty homomorphic encryption protocols face issues such as single points of failure, high time overheads, increased communication costs, and the need for system resets due to configuration updates, especially in federated learning scenarios involving geographically distributed IoT devices.
Innovation Solution
A hierarchical multiparty homomorphic encryption (H-MHE) system is introduced, dividing client devices into clusters with varying levels of reliability, using PHE, FMHE, or TMHE, and employing gateway devices to manage intra-cluster communication, reducing communication costs and simplifying configuration updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fully-multiparty homomorphic encryption (FMHE) is used to eliminate single points of failure, then security is improved, but the system becomes sensitive to contributor delays and has high time overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the multiparty homomorphic encryption system into hierarchical levels: local clusters with their own MHE protocols, gateway devices that aggregate cluster results, and a central server. This segmentation allows parallel processing within clusters, reducing overall time overhead while maintaining the security benefits of multiparty protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
Gateway devices serve as intermediaries between local client clusters and the central server. Each gateway aggregates encrypted results from its cluster members and forwards to the central server, eliminating the need for all N contributors to simultaneously communicate with the central server, thus reducing time overhead while maintaining FMHE security properties.
2Reliability
If threshold-multiparty homomorphic encryption (TMHE) is used to improve resilience to dropout, then reliability is improved, but communication costs and time overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the network into local clusters where TMHE is executed. By limiting communication to within clusters rather than across the entire network, communication costs are significantly reduced while maintaining the threshold-based resilience to dropout at the system level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the MHE system by organizing contributors into geographic or logical clusters. This allows the system to maintain high threshold requirements for security while reducing communication overhead by localizing interactions to cluster level, with gateways handling inter-cluster aggregation.
3Reliability
If multiparty homomorphic encryption is implemented across all client devices, then security is improved, but device complexity and communication infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the system into segments with different security requirements: local clusters can use simpler PHE or lightweight MHE protocols, while gateway devices and central servers implement full FMHE/TMHE. This segmentation reduces device complexity for resource-constrained clients while maintaining overall system security through the hierarchical structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the hierarchical system implement different MHE protocols appropriate to their security requirements and computational capabilities. Local client devices may use PHE with threshold decryption, intermediate gateways use TMHE, and the central server uses FMHE, optimizing the balance between security and complexity at each level.
Data Source
AI summary
A hierarchical system configured to implement a secure multiparty computation protocol comprises: a plurality of client devices arranged in a plurality of C clusters of client devices, each cluster comprising: one or more client devices of the plurality of client devices; and a gateway device configured to communicate with the one or more client devices in the cluster, wherein, within each cluster, the one or more client devices are configured to implement a respective multiparty homomorphic encryption (MHE) protocol associated with that cluster; wherein: the plurality of C gateway devices form a gateway cluster of gateway devices, each gateway device of the plurality of C gateway devices configured to communicate with the other gateway devices; the gateway devices in the gateway cluster are configured to implement a gateway multiparty homomorphic encryption (MHE) protocol; and one or more gateway devices of the plurality of C gateway devices is configured to communicate with a central server.