Attribute-based encryption (ABE) which allows users to encrypt and decrypt
messages based on user attributes is a type of one-to-many encryption. Unlike
the conventional one-to-one encryption which has no intention to exclude any
partners of the intended receiver from obtaining the plaintext, an ABE system
tries to exclude some unintended recipients from obtaining the plaintext
whether they are partners of some intended recipients. We remark that this
requirement for ABE is very hard to meet. An ABE system cannot truly exclude
some unintended recipients from decryption because some users can exchange
their decryption keys in order to maximize their own interests. The flaw
discounts the importance of the cryptographic primitive.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
