Exploring Homomorphic Encryption Libraries

Diving into Homomorphic Encryption Libraries

Homomorphic Encryption (HE) is a powerful cryptographic technique, and its practical implementation relies on sophisticated software libraries. These libraries provide the tools and schemes necessary to build applications that can compute on encrypted data. Below, we explore some of the most prominent HE libraries available to developers and researchers.

Abstract visualization of interconnected software library logos and code snippets for Homomorphic Encryption

Key Libraries in the HE Landscape:

  • Microsoft SEAL (Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library): Developed by Microsoft Research, SEAL is one of the most widely used HE libraries. It supports both the Brakerski/Fan-Vercauteren (BFV) and Cheon-Kim-Kim-Song (CKKS) schemes. SEAL is written in C++ but provides wrappers for C# and Python, making it accessible to a broader range of developers. It's known for its ease of use and comprehensive documentation. Visit Microsoft SEAL
  • HElib: Developed by IBM, HElib is another leading open-source library. It implements the BGV (Brakerski-Gentry-Vaikuntanathan) scheme with support for bootstrapping and the CKKS scheme. HElib is also written in C++ and is recognized for its focus on performance and optimization techniques like bootstrapping. Explore HElib on GitHub
  • PALISADE: PALISADE is a comprehensive, open-source lattice cryptography library that supports various HE schemes, including BFV, BGV, CKKS, FHEW, and TFHE. It is developed by a consortium of academic and industry partners and aims to provide a modular and flexible framework for post-quantum cryptography, including HE. Discover PALISADE
  • TFHE (Fast Fully Homomorphic Encryption over the Torus): TFHE is a C/C++ library that implements fast gate-by-gate bootstrapping for FHE. This allows for arbitrary computations on encrypted data. It is particularly known for its efficiency in evaluating boolean circuits and its low-latency bootstrapping. Learn about TFHE

Choosing a Library:

The choice of an HE library often depends on the specific requirements of the application, such as the type of computations needed (e.g., arithmetic vs. boolean), performance considerations, desired security level, and the programming language preferences of the development team. Many of these libraries are actively developed, with ongoing efforts to improve performance, usability, and add new features.

For further reading on applied cryptography, you might find resources like The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) insightful.