This project is developing new techniques for manipulating sensitive data by exploring two related areas, computing on private keys and computing on authenticated data. Currently, a private key is an inert object that gives its holder the ability to perform a cryptographic operation on all messages, as may be the case when generating a signature. The project is exploring a new vision, in which computing on the private key itself creates new restricted private keys that can only perform restricted operations such as, for example, signing only some messages but not others. In the case of computing on authenticated data -- data for which integrity is important but secrecy is not -- the project is developing new tools to compute on such data and obtain authenticated results.
The project is committed to the dissemination of research results, education of students, and outreach to industry. Overall, the proposed project will produce a next generation of technology for managing authenticated and encrypted data while advancing the field of applied cryptography and educating the next generation of researchers.
