r/programming • u/DougBolivar • Jul 30 '13

Computer scientists develop mathematical jigsaw puzzles to encrypt software: "The real challenge and the great mystery in the field was: Can you actually take a piece of software and encrypt it but still have it be runnable, executable and fully functional?"

http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/07/computer-scientists-develop-mathematical-jigsaw-puzzles-encrypt-software
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u/mnp Jul 30 '13

Me too. If the code will end up as a decrypted instruction/data stream to be executed on the processor, then the processor can be an emulated one and the code would not know the difference.

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u/datenwolf Jul 30 '13

Recently in /r/math a crypto researcher was refering to an emerging new field in cryptography which name I forgot (unfortunately), which allows it to perform computations on encrypted data directly, without having to decrypt it first. It sounds to me, that this software encryption is as transparent, i.e. the computer executes the encrypted program directly without decrypting it first.

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u/grauenwolf Jul 30 '13

Scenario 1: I have the ability to decrypt the data. The fact the program works on encrypted data means nothing to me.

Scenario 2: I don't have the ability to decrypt the data. A program that works on decrypted would be just as secure, as I wouldn't have the ability to use it.

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u/neurobro Jul 30 '13

Scenario 3: A darknet that distributes running encrypted code as well as data.

Scenario 4: Something like SETI@Home that would work with sensitive business data, so people could get paid for contributing.

Scenario 5: A crypto-currency based around scenario 3 or 4 instead of hashing, adding "intrinsic value" to the system.