FHE, an acronym for Fully Homomorphic Encryption, is a cryptographic technique that allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it first. In other words, it enables the manipulation of data in an encrypted form.
The concept of FHE was first proposed in 1978 by Rivest, Adleman, and Dertouzos, but it remained a theoretical construct for many years due to its computational complexity. However, advancements in cryptography and computer science have made FHE more practical in recent years.
FHE works by applying a set of mathematical operations known as homomorphic operations on encrypted data. These operations can be performed on the ciphertext and yield the same result as if they were performed on the plaintext. The result remains encrypted, maintaining the confidentiality of the data throughout the entire computation process.
The potential applications of FHE are vast and impactful. It can be used in secure cloud computing, enabling users to perform computations on their encrypted data without exposing it to the cloud provider. FHE can also be beneficial in privacy-preserving machine learning, where data can be trained and processed without compromising the privacy of individuals.
Despite its significant advantages, FHE still faces challenges such as performance overhead and key generation complexity. However, ongoing research and development in the field aim to tackle these obstacles, making FHE a promising tool for secure and confidential computations in various domains.
