ORDER-PRESERVING ENCRYPTION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Organization Name

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Inventor(s)

ORDER-PRESERVING ENCRYPTION METHOD AND APPARATUS - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18462214 titled 'ORDER-PRESERVING ENCRYPTION METHOD AND APPARATUS

The abstract describes an order-preserving encryption method and apparatus that allows for secure data retrieval while maintaining the order of the data.

The method involves encrypting plaintext data received from a client and storing it in a ciphertext database along with a search index on a server.
When a range search query is received, the method converts it into a search index query statement and queries the server for the search index.
The server then queries the ciphertext database for the corresponding index ciphertext, decrypts it, and sends the plaintext response back to the client.

Potential Applications: - Secure data retrieval in databases - Privacy-preserving search queries - Encrypted data storage in cloud computing

Problems Solved: - Maintaining data order while encrypting - Secure data retrieval without revealing plaintext information - Efficient search queries on encrypted data

Benefits: - Enhanced data security and privacy - Efficient and secure data retrieval - Protection against unauthorized access to sensitive information

Commercial Applications: - Secure cloud storage solutions - Data encryption services for sensitive information - Privacy-focused search engines

Questions about Order-Preserving Encryption: 1. How does order-preserving encryption differ from traditional encryption methods? Order-preserving encryption maintains the order of data while encrypting it, allowing for certain types of searches to be performed on the encrypted data without decryption.

2. What are the potential drawbacks of using order-preserving encryption? One potential drawback is that it may leak more information about the plaintext data compared to traditional encryption methods, as some order-related patterns may still be discernible.

Original Abstract Submitted

Disclosed herein are an order-preserving encryption method and apparatus. The order-preserving encryption method may include when plaintext data is received from a client, storing a ciphertext database (DB), generated by encrypting the plaintext data, and a search index in a server, when a request for a range search query is received from the client, converting the range search query into a search index query statement, querying the server including search indices for the search index query statement, and querying the ciphertext DB of the server for an index ciphertext received in response to the query, and decrypting a ciphertext received as a response from the ciphertext DB and then transferring a plaintext-type response to the query statement to the client.