Secure and Functional Encrypted Databases – SaFED

Encrypted databases are an attractive goal: they enable users to outsource data to the cloud with desirable functionalities, such as the ability to search over the data, while retaining precise guarantees regarding the confidentiality of their data with respect to the host server. However, most existing solutions to this problem have suffered from major security flaws, and no complete solution has been reached, despite considerable interest from industry. This issue constitutes a major challenge at the intersection of two areas: cryptography and data science. Convincing solutions to this challenge would allow users to take full advantage of modern cloud technologies, without sacrificing security, privacy or usability. This project aims to advance the state of the art in this area, both in terms of the security guarantees offered by candidate constructions of encrypted databases, and in terms of the functionality they support.