METHOD FOR PRESERVING PRIVACY OF A REPUTATION INQUIRY IN A PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT
First Claim
1. A method for preserving privacy of a reputation inquiry in a peer-to-peer communication environment with an inquiry handler, a response handler, a plurality of parties including at least one responder, an inquirer, an inquiry target, wherein the responder has a rating score that rates the inquiry target, the method comprising the steps of:
- generating an inquiry vector about the inquiry target, wherein the inquiry vector has a plurality of elements and the generating step is performed by the inquirer;
applying homomorphic encryption, by the inquirer, to each element of the inquiry vector and specifying a corresponding encryption key, thereby producing an encrypted inquiry, wherein the encryption key is known by the inquirer and is not known by the inquiry handler, the response handler, the inquiry target or the responder;
sending the encrypted inquiry to the inquiry handler;
broadcasting the encrypted inquiry to the responder, wherein the broadcasting step is performed by the inquiry handler,identifying the response handler to the responder such that each responder can send a response to the response handler, the step of identifying the response handler being performed by the inquiry handler;
responding by raising each element of the encrypted inquiry vector by a power equal to the rating score, thereby generating a response to the inquiry, wherein the raising step is performed by the responder;
transmitting the responses from the responder to the response handler;
producing a summary response, wherein the step of producing is performed by the response handler;
sending the summary response from the response handler to the inquirer; and
decrypting the encrypted summary response using the encryption key.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for preserving privacy of a reputation inquiry in a peer-to-peer communication environment. The method allows peers using their own personal agents to obtain reputation information of each other through a pair of trustworthy mediator proxies. A mediator proxy is considered trustworthy if even when it is compromised it can guarantee three conditions: (1) the anonymity of the identity of the responders and the target being inquired; (2) the privacy of the content in an inquiry and a response; and (3) the boundary limit of the reputation summary with no possibility of combining the response of multiple inquiries to reverse engineer the reputation rating of an individual responder.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for preserving privacy of a reputation inquiry in a peer-to-peer communication environment with an inquiry handler, a response handler, a plurality of parties including at least one responder, an inquirer, an inquiry target, wherein the responder has a rating score that rates the inquiry target, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating an inquiry vector about the inquiry target, wherein the inquiry vector has a plurality of elements and the generating step is performed by the inquirer; applying homomorphic encryption, by the inquirer, to each element of the inquiry vector and specifying a corresponding encryption key, thereby producing an encrypted inquiry, wherein the encryption key is known by the inquirer and is not known by the inquiry handler, the response handler, the inquiry target or the responder; sending the encrypted inquiry to the inquiry handler; broadcasting the encrypted inquiry to the responder, wherein the broadcasting step is performed by the inquiry handler, identifying the response handler to the responder such that each responder can send a response to the response handler, the step of identifying the response handler being performed by the inquiry handler; responding by raising each element of the encrypted inquiry vector by a power equal to the rating score, thereby generating a response to the inquiry, wherein the raising step is performed by the responder; transmitting the responses from the responder to the response handler; producing a summary response, wherein the step of producing is performed by the response handler; sending the summary response from the response handler to the inquirer; and decrypting the encrypted summary response using the encryption key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for preserving privacy of a reputation inquiry in a peer-to-peer communication environment with an inquiry handler, a response handler, a plurality of parties including at least one responder, an inquirer, an inquiry target, wherein the responder has a rating score that rates the inquiry target, the method comprising the steps of:
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specifying an agent to act on behalf of the inquirer; generating an inquiry vector about the inquiry target, wherein the inquiry vector has a plurality of elements and the generating step is performed by the agent; applying homomorphic encryption, by the agent, to each element of the inquiry vector and specifying a corresponding encryption key, thereby producing an encrypted inquiry, wherein the encryption key is known by the agent and is not known by the inquiry handler, the response handler, the inquiry target or the responder; sending the encrypted inquiry to the inquiry handler; broadcasting the encrypted inquiry to the responder, wherein the broadcasting step is performed by the inquiry handler, identifying the response handler to the responder such that each responder can send a response to the response handler, the step of identifying the response handler being performed by the inquiry handler; responding by raising each element of the encrypted inquiry vector by a power equal to the rating score, thereby generating a response to the inquiry, wherein the raising step is performed by the responder; transmitting the response from the responder to the response handler; producing a summary response, wherein the step of producing is performed by the response handler; sending the summary response from the response handler to the agent; decrypting the encrypted summary response using the encryption key. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification