Developers can now get the chance to process data while it’s still encrypted, thanks to the release of IBM’s Fully Homomorphic Encryption Toolkits. The new technology, which is currently available for Apple devices, gives developers easier access to fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) and makes it easier to incorporate FHE into their applications.
“The common methods of storing and sharing sensitive data with colleagues and partners have weak links. Today, files are often encrypted in transit and at rest, but decrypted while in use. This provides hackers and insiders with repeated opportunities to exfiltrate unencrypted data,” explained Flavio Bergamaschi, a senior research scientist at IBM Research.
“FHE plugs these holes. It allows the manipulation of data by permissioned parties while it remains encrypted, minimizing the time it exists in its most vulnerable state,” he added.
Normally, when data is encrypted, it cannot be accessed or used by unauthorized parties. IBM seeks to solve this form of security vulnerability by providing kits that will enable developers to experiment with FHE.
Specifically, through the said technology, developers can freely share and analyse data while keeping it encrypted. In theory, this will add more challenges to hackers, especially when trying to pry on sensitive applications, such as those related in the financial and healthcare industries.
“If we are able to perform computation with data encrypted, we can address this paradox of the need to know versus the need to share. It's almost the same as enabling the processing of that data without getting access to it. If we can achieve that, we are adding a level of security beyond what [exists] today,” Bergamaschi continued.
Normally, to implement FHE, the senior research scientist said organization will need to rewrite parts of the business logic used in their programs. However, doing so promises “very high” security.
To date, the new toolkits are currently limited on GitHub for macOS and iOS. IBM, however, said that Android and Linux versions are expected to be released in “a few weeks.”
The company also revealed that the toolkits are “not perfect or final” and are expected to change as the needs of the industries transform.
“Now, in the time it takes most people to brew a pot of coffee or declutter a desk, developers can follow simple instructions to get up and running with a FHE toolkit,” said Eli Dow, a researcher at IBM Research.
