Homomorphic Encryption for Private Information Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional private information retrieval (PIR) solutions are limited by exact string matching, which restricts their applicability and efficiency, especially in scenarios requiring advanced search patterns and maintaining query privacy when querying untrusted databases.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of homomorphic encryption, specifically fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) and somewhat homomorphic encryption (SHE), enables advanced search techniques like regular expression and substring matching, allowing computations to be performed directly on encrypted data without decryption, thereby maintaining query privacy and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional PIR solutions use exact string matching, then query privacy is maintained, but search flexibility and applicability are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical string matching operations with homomorphic encryption-based computational operations. This allows advanced search patterns like regular expressions to be executed on encrypted data, maintaining query privacy while significantly increasing search flexibility and applicability without requiring system decryption or trusted intermediaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of data representation from plaintext to homomorphically encrypted form. This parameter change enables complex search operations to be performed directly on encrypted data, resolving the contradiction between maintaining privacy and increasing search flexibility by allowing regex and substring matching without decryption.
2Reliability
If homomorphic encryption is used to perform searches on encrypted data, then query privacy is maintained and search flexibility is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary homomorphic encryption to the query data before transmission to the database system. This preliminary action enables all subsequent search operations to be performed on encrypted data without requiring repeated encryption/decryption cycles, thereby maintaining query privacy while managing computational complexity through a single initial encryption operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces homomorphic encryption as an intermediary layer between the query and the database system. This intermediary enables the database to perform complex search operations on encrypted data without accessing the plaintext, thus maintaining query privacy while the encryption layer manages the computational complexity through optimized homomorphic operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If advanced search patterns like regular expressions are implemented with homomorphic encryption, then search applicability is improved, but computational overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments complex regular expression search operations into smaller, manageable homomorphic computational steps. By breaking down the regex matching process into discrete operations that can be executed sequentially or in parallel on encrypted data, the system improves search applicability for advanced patterns while managing computational overhead through efficient segmentation and optimization of each individual operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for performing private information retrieval may include a data requesting computer that is configured to receive a query string, homomorphically encrypt the query string to generate an encrypted query, transmit the encrypted query to a data repository computer, and receive resultant encrypted datasets. The data repository computer may be configured to access a database comprising a plurality of datasets, receive the encrypted query, and perform a search of the plurality of datasets to identify the resultant encrypted datasets that include data that matches the encrypted query for provision to the data requesting computer. The search may be performed such that encryption of the encrypted query is maintained while performing computational operations of the search.