🧮
Homomorphic Encryption
Encryption
Cryptographic schemes enabling computation on ciphertexts such that decrypted results match operations on plaintexts.
Definition
Homomorphic encryption allows specific operations (partial or fully homomorphic) to be performed on ciphertexts, producing an encrypted result that, when decrypted, equals the plaintext operation result.
In plain English
Cryptographic schemes enabling computation on ciphertexts such that decrypted results match operations on plaintexts.
Why this matters
Why it matters: It enables privacy-preserving analytics and outsourced computation with less exposure of sensitive data, though it may be expensive and complex.
Example
Example: Compute aggregate statistics on encrypted medical data so the cloud never sees individual records in plaintext.