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Summing over a network without revealing summands

  • Part II Numerical Mathematics
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Abstract

Consider a network in which each node possesses a secret member of a finite abelian group. In this paper we present a protocol by which the nodes can compute the sums of their secret elements without revealing them to each other. The security against discovery of the secret values as a result of conspiracies among nodes or compromise of channels between nodes is shown to depend on the connectivity of the graph defined by the network. Moreover, we are able to quantify exactly the amount of information revealed as a result of a conspiracy of a given set of nodes or compromise of a given set of channels.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5543, 20375, Washington, DC, USA

    Catherine Meadows & George Purdy

  2. Department of Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, 45221, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Catherine Meadows & George Purdy

Authors
  1. Catherine Meadows
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  2. George Purdy
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Meadows, C., Purdy, G. Summing over a network without revealing summands. BIT 29, 110–125 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01932709

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01932709

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