Public-Key Cryptosystems from the Worst-Case Shortest Vector Problem

Citation

Peikert, C. (2009, May). Public-key cryptosystems from the worst-case shortest vector problem. In Proceedings of the forty-first annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing (pp. 333-342).

Abstract

We construct public-key cryptosystems that are secure assuming theworst-case hardness of approximating the minimum distance on n-dimensional lattices to within small Poly(n) factors. Prior cryptosystems with worst-case connections were based either on the shortest vector problem for a special class of lattices (Ajtai and Dwork, STOC 1997; Regev, J. ACM 2004), or on the conjectured hardness of lattice problems for quantum algorithms (Regev, STOC 2005). Our main technical innovation is a reduction from variants of the shortest vector problem to corresponding versions of the “learning with errors” (LWE) problem; previously, only a quantum reduction of this kind was known. As an additional contribution, we construct a natural chosen ciphertext-secure cryptosystem having a much simpler description and tighter underlying worst-case approximation factor than prior schemes.


Read more from SRI

  • Banner and attendees at the IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit

    Cultivating hard tech startups that scale

    IEEE’s Hard Tech Venture Summit convened innovators at SRI to refine strategies and build new networks.

  • Patient going into a MRI

    Bringing surgical tools inside the MRI

    Drawing on SRI’s unique innovation ecosystem, the startup Medical Devices Corner is seeking to improve cancer surgery by advancing MRI-safe teleoperation.

  • Christopher Mims and Susan Patrick

    PARC Forum: How to AI

    The Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims and SRI Education’s Susan Patrick discuss how AI can strengthen human agency.