On Pseudorandom Encodings

We initiate a study of pseudorandom encodings: efficiently computable and decodable encoding functions that map messages from a given distribution to a random-looking distribution. For instance, every distribution that can be perfectly and efficiently compressed admits such a pseudorandom encoding. Pseudorandom encodings are motivated by a variety of cryptographic applications, including password-authenticated key exchange, “honey encryption” and steganography. The main question we ask is whether every efficiently samplable distribution admits a pseudorandom encoding. Under different cryptographic assumptions, we obtain positive and negative answers for different flavors of pseudorandom encodings, and relate this question to problems in other areas of cryptography. In particular, by establishing a two-way relation between pseudorandom encoding schemes and efficient invertible sampling algorithms, we reveal a connection between adaptively secure multiparty computation for randomized functionalities and questions in the domain of steganography

On Pseudorandom Encodings

We initiate a study of pseudorandom encodings: efficiently computable and decodable encoding functions that map messages from a given distribution to a random-looking distribution. For instance, every distribution that can be perfectly and efficiently compressed admits such a pseudorandom encoding. Pseudorandom encodings are motivated by a variety of cryptographic applications, including password-authenticated key exchange, “honey encryption” and steganography. The main question we ask is whether every efficiently samplable distribution admits a pseudorandom encoding. Under different cryptographic assumptions, we obtain positive and negative answers for different flavors of pseudorandom encodings, and relate this question to problems in other areas of cryptography. In particular, by establishing a twoway relation between pseudorandom encoding schemes and efficient invertible sampling algorithms, we reveal a connection between adaptively secure multiparty computation for randomized functionalities and questions in the domain of steganography

Non-Malleable Codes for Small-Depth Circuits

We construct efficient, unconditional non-malleable codes that are secure against tampering functions computed by small-depth circuits. For constant-depth circuits of polynomial size (i.e. $\mathsf{AC^0}$ tampering functions), our codes have codeword length $n = k^{1+o(1)}$ for a $k$-bit message. This is an exponential improvement of the previous best construction due to Chattopadhyay and Li (STOC 2017), which had codeword length $2^{O(\sqrt{k})}$. Our construction remains efficient for circuit depths as large as $\Theta(\log(n)/\log\log(n))$ (indeed, our codeword length remains $n\leq k^{1+\epsilon})$, and extending our result beyond this would require separating $\mathsf{P}$ from $\mathsf{NC^1}$. We obtain our codes via a new efficient non-malleable reduction from small-depth tampering to split-state tampering. A novel aspect of our work is the incorporation of techniques from unconditional derandomization into the framework of non-malleable reductions. In particular, a key ingredient in our analysis is a recent pseudorandom switching lemma of Trevisan and Xue (CCC 2013), a derandomization of the influential switching lemma from circuit complexity; the randomness-efficiency of this switching lemma translates into the rate-efficiency of our codes via our non-malleable reduction.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure

Limits to Non-Malleability

There have been many successes in constructing explicit non-malleable codes for various classes of tampering functions in recent years, and strong existential results are also known. In this work we ask the following question: When can we rule out the existence of a non-malleable code for a tampering class ?? First, we start with some classes where positive results are well-known, and show that when these classes are extended in a natural way, non-malleable codes are no longer possible. Specifically, we show that no non-malleable codes exist for any of the following tampering classes: - Functions that change d/2 symbols, where d is the distance of the code; - Functions where each input symbol affects only a single output symbol; - Functions where each of the n output bits is a function of n-log n input bits. Furthermore, we rule out constructions of non-malleable codes for certain classes ? via reductions to the assumption that a distributional problem is hard for ?, that make black-box use of the tampering functions in the proof. In particular, this yields concrete obstacles for the construction of efficient codes for NC, even assuming average-case variants of P ? NC

On Foundations of Protecting Computations

Information technology systems have become indispensable to uphold our way of living, our economy and our safety. Failure of these systems can have devastating effects. Consequently, securing these systems against malicious intentions deserves our utmost attention. Cryptography provides the necessary foundations for that purpose. In particular, it provides a set of building blocks which allow to secure larger information systems. Furthermore, cryptography develops concepts and tech- niques towards realizing these building blocks. The protection of computations is one invaluable concept for cryptography which paves the way towards realizing a multitude of cryptographic tools. In this thesis, we contribute to this concept of protecting computations in several ways. Protecting computations of probabilistic programs. An indis- tinguishability obfuscator (IO) compiles (deterministic) code such that it becomes provably unintelligible. This can be viewed as the ultimate way to protect (deterministic) computations. Due to very recent research, such obfuscators enjoy plausible candidate constructions. In certain settings, however, it is necessary to protect probabilistic com- putations. The only known construction of an obfuscator for probabilistic programs is due to Canetti, Lin, Tessaro, and Vaikuntanathan, TCC, 2015 and requires an indistinguishability obfuscator which satisfies extreme security guarantees. We improve this construction and thereby reduce the require- ments on the security of the underlying indistinguishability obfuscator. (Agrikola, Couteau, and Hofheinz, PKC, 2020) Protecting computations in cryptographic groups. To facilitate the analysis of building blocks which are based on cryptographic groups, these groups are often overidealized such that computations in the group are protected from the outside. Using such overidealizations allows to prove building blocks secure which are sometimes beyond the reach of standard model techniques. However, these overidealizations are subject to certain impossibility results. Recently, Fuchsbauer, Kiltz, and Loss, CRYPTO, 2018 introduced the algebraic group model (AGM) as a relaxation which is closer to the standard model but in several aspects preserves the power of said overidealizations. However, their model still suffers from implausibilities. We develop a framework which allows to transport several security proofs from the AGM into the standard model, thereby evading the above implausi- bility results, and instantiate this framework using an indistinguishability obfuscator. (Agrikola, Hofheinz, and Kastner, EUROCRYPT, 2020) Protecting computations using compression. Perfect compression algorithms admit the property that the compressed distribution is truly random leaving no room for any further compression. This property is invaluable for several cryptographic applications such as “honey encryption” or password-authenticated key exchange. However, perfect compression algorithms only exist for a very small number of distributions. We relax the notion of compression and rigorously study the resulting notion which we call “pseudorandom encodings”. As a result, we identify various surprising connections between seemingly unrelated areas of cryptography. Particularly, we derive novel results for adaptively secure multi-party computation which allows for protecting computations in distributed settings. Furthermore, we instantiate the weakest version of pseudorandom encodings which suffices for adaptively secure multi-party computation using an indistinguishability obfuscator. (Agrikola, Couteau, Ishai, Jarecki, and Sahai, TCC, 2020

Some Applications of Coding Theory in Computational Complexity

Error-correcting codes and related combinatorial constructs play an important role in several recent (and old) results in computational complexity theory. In this paper we survey results on locally-testable and locally-decodable error-correcting codes, and their applications to complexity theory and to cryptography. Locally decodable codes are error-correcting codes with sub-linear time error-correcting algorithms. They are related to private information retrieval (a type of cryptographic protocol), and they are used in average-case complexity and to construct ``hard-core predicates'' for one-way permutations. Locally testable codes are error-correcting codes with sub-linear time error-detection algorithms, and they are the combinatorial core of probabilistically checkable proofs

Hiding secrets in public random functions

Constructing advanced cryptographic applications often requires the ability of privately embedding messages or functions in the code of a program. As an example, consider the task of building a searchable encryption scheme, which allows the users to search over the encrypted data and learn nothing other than the search result. Such a task is achievable if it is possible to embed the secret key of an encryption scheme into the code of a program that performs the "decrypt-then-search" functionality, and guarantee that the code hides everything except its functionality. This thesis studies two cryptographic primitives that facilitate the capability of hiding secrets in the program of random functions. 1. We first study the notion of a private constrained pseudorandom function (PCPRF). A PCPRF allows the PRF master secret key holder to derive a public constrained key that changes the functionality of the original key without revealing the constraint description. Such a notion closely captures the goal of privately embedding functions in the code of a random function. Our main contribution is in constructing single-key secure PCPRFs for NC^1 circuit constraints based on the learning with errors assumption. Single-key secure PCPRFs were known to support a wide range of cryptographic applications, such as private-key deniable encryption and watermarking. In addition, we build reusable garbled circuits from PCPRFs. 2. We then study how to construct cryptographic hash functions that satisfy strong random oracle-like properties. In particular, we focus on the notion of correlation intractability, which requires that given the description of a function, it should be hard to find an input-output pair that satisfies any sparse relations. Correlation intractability captures the security properties required for, e.g., the soundness of the Fiat-Shamir heuristic, where the Fiat-Shamir transformation is a practical method of building signature schemes from interactive proof protocols. However, correlation intractability was shown to be impossible to achieve for certain length parameters, and was widely considered to be unobtainable. Our contribution is in building correlation intractable functions from various cryptographic assumptions. The security analyses of the constructions use the techniques of secretly embedding constraints in the code of random functions