They can work it out – without knowing the numbers

There is an increasing need for being able to compute using data while it is encrypted. This makes it possible to work with others on confidential data without letting each other see any more than they actually need to.
“Twenty-five years ago, it was hard to imagine that this could be used for anything in practice. However, secure multiparty computation – as the concept is called – has gradually found so many applications that I’d never have dreamt of,” says Professor of Computer Science Ivan Damgaard from the Centre for Research in the Foundations of Electronic Markets (CFEM), Aarhus University.
“We’re currently seeing great interest in benchmarking, for example. Companies want to compare their data with others, because it can help them optimise the company. On the other hand, they’re not interested in showing their data to competitors. What we offer is that you compute using data without anyone else seeing it. In other words, the cupboard is locked with several different digital keys, each of which belongs to the person who has an agreement about seeing the result. The door can only be unlocked when all the approved digital keys are in place,” explains Professor Damgaard.
Along with other researchers and practitioners, Professor Damgaard will be focusing on what secure computation can be used for at the Theory and Practice of Multiparty Computation workshop being held from 4 to 8 June in collaboration with the Sino-Danish Centre for the Theory of Interactive Computation (CTIC).
 
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