Key-Aggregate Searchable Encryption, Revisited: Formal Foundations for Cloud Applications, and Their Implementation

In the use of a cloud storage, sharing of data with efficient access control is an important requirement in addition to data security and privacy. Cui et al. (IEEE Trans. on Comp. 2016) proposed key-aggregate searchable encryption (KASE), which allows a data owner to issue an aggregate key that enables a user to search in an authorized subset of encrypted files by generating an encrypted keyword called trapdoor. While the idea of KASE is elegant, to the best of our knowledge, its security has never been discussed formally. In this paper, we discuss the security of KASE formally and propose provably secure schemes. We first introduce our provably secure scheme, named first construction, with respect to encrypted files and aggregate keys in a single-server setting. In comparison with the scheme of Cui et al., the first construction is secure without increased computational costs. Then, we introduce another provably secure scheme, named main construction, with respect to trapdoors in a two-server setting. The main construction guarantees the privacy of a search, encrypted files, and aggregate keys. Considering 5,000 encrypted keywords, the first construction can finish search within three seconds and the main construction can finish search within six seconds.