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Title: Simply Safe Lattice Cryptography
Eric Crockett
School of Computer Science
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Date: Wednesday, July, 26th, 2017
Time: 12 PM to 2 PM EST
Location: Klaus 2100 (Georgia Tech)
Committee:
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Dr. Chris Peikert (Advisor, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan)
Dr. Sasha Boldreva (School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Craig Costello (Microsoft Research)
Dr. J. Alex Halderman (Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan)
Dr. Richard Lipton (School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech)
Abstract:
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Lattice cryptography has many compelling features, like security under worst-case hardness assumptions, apparent security against quantum attacks, efficiency and parallelism, and powerful constructions like fully homomorphic encryption. While standard constructions such as lattice-based key exchange are starting to be deployed in real-world scenarios, the most powerful lattice cryptosystems are still limited to research prototypes. This is due in part to the difficulty of implementing, instantiating, and using these schemes.
In this work we present a collection of tools to facilitate broader use of lattice cryptography by improving accessibility and usability. The foundation of this work is Λ∘λ, a general-purpose software framework for lattice cryptography. The Λ∘λ library has several features which distinguish it from prior implementations, including high-level abstractions for lattice operations, advanced functionality needed for applications like homomorphic encryption, and safe interfaces.
We also introduce ALCHEMY, a domain-specific language and compiler for homomorphic computations. In existing implementations of homomorphic encryption, users must manually represent a desired plaintext computation as a much more complex sequence of operations on ciphertexts. ALCHEMY automates most of the steps in this process, which dramatically reduces the expertise needed to use homomorphic encryption.
