Data handlers could soon collaborate on encrypted databases without revealing their secrets, following a homomorphic cryptography breakthrough by scientists at the University of Bristol.
Cryptographers have dreamed for 30 years of being able to add and multiply the contents of ciphertext, which would allow them to manipulate encrypted data.
"Our scheme could be really useful for storing data remotely, but still being able to access it," Nigel Smart, professor of cryptology in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol told PC Pro.