Publication

UnLynx: A Decentralized System for Privacy-Conscious Data Sharing

Jean-Pierre Hubaux, Bryan Alexander Ford, David Jules Froelicher, Jean Louis Raisaro, Zhicong Huang, Christian Vincent Mouchet, Joao André Gomes de Sá e Sousa, Patricia Egger
2017
Conference Papers

Abstract

Current solutions for privacy-preserving data sharing among multiple parties either depend on a centralized authority that must be trusted and provides only weakest-link security (e.g., the entity that manages private/secret cryptographic keys), or leverage on decentralized but impractical approaches (e.g., secure multi-party computation). When the data to be shared are of a sensitive nature and the number of data providers is high, these solutions are not appropriate. Therefore, we present UnLynx, a new decentralized system for efficient privacypreserving data sharing. We consider m servers that constitute a collective authority whose goal is to verifiably compute on data sent from n data providers. UnLynx guarantees the confidentiality, unlinkability between data providers and their data, privacy of the end result and the correctness of computations by the servers. Furthermore, to support differentially private queries, UnLynx can collectively add noise under encryption. All of this is achieved through a combination of a set of new distributed and secure protocols that are based on homomorphic cryptography, verifiable shuffling and zero-knowledge proofs. UnLynx is highly parallelizable and modular by design as it enables multiple security/privacy vs. runtime tradeoffs. Our evaluation shows that UnLynx can execute a secure survey on 400,000 personal data records containing 5 encrypted attributes, distributed over 20 independent databases, for a total of 2,000,000 ciphertexts, in 24 minutes.

Official source

Jean-Pierre Hubaux, Bryan Alexander Ford, David Jules Froelicher, Jean Louis Raisaro, Zhicong Huang, Christian Vincent Mouchet, Joao André Gomes de Sá e Sousa, Patricia Egger
2017
Conference Papers

Abstract

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Privacy

Privacy (UK, US) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of appropriate use and protection of information. Privacy may also take the form of bodily integrity. There have been many different conceptions of privacy throughout history. Most cultures recognize the right of an individual to withhold aspects of their personal lives from public record.

Privacy law

Privacy law is the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organisations, or other individuals. It also applies in the commercial sector to things like trade secrets and the liability that directors, officers, and employees have when handing sensitive information.

Cryptographic protocol

A cryptographic protocol is an abstract or concrete protocol that performs a security-related function and applies cryptographic methods, often as sequences of cryptographic primitives. A protocol describes how the algorithms should be used and includes details about data structures and representations, at which point it can be used to implement multiple, interoperable versions of a program. Cryptographic protocols are widely used for secure application-level data transport.

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