Attribute-Based Encryption in Securing Big Data from Post-Quantum Perspective: A Survey

Abstract

Attribute-based encryption (ABE) cryptography is widely known for its potential to solve the scalability issue of recent public key infrastructure (PKI). It provides a fine-grained access control system with high flexibility and efficiency by labeling the secret key and ciphertext with distinctive attributes. Due to its fine-grained features, the ABE scheme is a protection layer in securing users’ data and privacy in big data processing and analytics. However, quantum computing, new technology on the horizon that will transform the security and privacy environment, has begun to appear. Like the conventional ABE schemes, present cryptography is not excluded from the impacts of quantum technology as they are not made to be quantum-resistant. While most recent surveys generally touched on the generic features of attribute-based encryption schemes such as user revocation, scalability, flexibility, data confidentiality, and scope in pairing-based ABE schemes, this survey investigated quantum-resistant ABE schemes in securing big data. This survey reviews the challenges faced by the recent ABE cryptography in the post-quantum era and highlights its differences from the conventional pairing-based ABE schemes. Subsequently, we defined the criteria of an ideal quantum-resistant ABE scheme. Additionally, existing works on quantum-resistant ABE schemes are reviewed based on their algorithms design, security and functionalities. Lastly, we summarized quantum-resistant ABE schemes’ ongoing challenges and future works.

Multilayer privacy‐preserving model for security and privacy access control in edge computing

“…Users can recover the encrypted data if they present a set of authorized attributes that match the predefined access control policies in the ciphertexts or secret key. Because of ABE's fine‐grained access properties, multiple users can access the shared secret data, making it a versatile access control mechanism, confidential information sharing and exchange in recent advanced big data analytics and outsourced cloud computing 22 …”

“…Because of ABE's fine-grained access properties, multiple users can access the shared secret data, making it a versatile access control mechanism, confidential information sharing and exchange in recent advanced big data analytics and outsourced cloud computing. 22…”

OO-MA-KP-ABE-CRF: Online/Offline Multi-Authority Key-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption with Cryptographic Reverse Firewall for Physical Ability Data

“…For instance, Zhang et al [5] surveyed various ABE-based techniques for securing cloud data, Rasori et al [6] proposed a KP-ABE scheme against the potential threat of malicious attacks of untrustworthy cloud servers, Kumar et al [7] researched how to combine IoT with ABE to protect user privacy, and Jaiswal et al [8] compared and analyzed various ABE schemes in medical privacy scenarios. In addition, there has been a plethora of research related to privacy protection, such as the adoption of the secure encryption random permutation pseudo algorithm (SERPPA) to enhance network security and energy efficiency [9], investigations into ABE in the post-quantum era [10], and the development of privacy-preserving schemes in federated learning [11], among others. Considering that almost all hierarchical ABEs are designed based on CP-ABE schemes and only support monotonic access structures, Li et al [12] proposed a hierarchical non-monotonic KP-ABE scheme.…”

“…After obtaining the ciphertext by encrypting the data using the attributes, it is then uploaded to the CSP. (10) The offline/online technology is used in the encryption for saving computational costs. ( 11) and (12) The ciphertext generated by the sensors is not immediately sent to the CSP but is first transmitted to the CRF, which updates and transforms the ciphertext.…”