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Querying Encrypted Data in Graph Databases

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Applied Computing to Support Industry: Innovation and Technology (ACRIT 2019)

Abstract

Encryption is an effective way to protect sensitive data in a database from various attacks. Querying encrypted data, however, becomes a challenge. Either the data should be decrypted before the querying, leaving it vulnerable to server-side attacks, or one has to apply computationally expensive methods for querying encrypted data. In this paper, we present a flexible mechanism for the execution of queries over encrypted graph databases. Data privacy is protected at the server side, through the use of multi-layered encryption and encryption layer adjustment, conducted dynamically during the execution of queries. The proposed scheme reveals less information to the adversary than in the case of static adjustment done prior to execution. We report on the implementation of the scheme as applied to a subset of Cypher graph queries (graph traversal queries) directed at a Neo4j graph database. The experimental results show the efficiency of query execution for various types of query on encrypted graph data stores.

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References

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Correspondence to Nahla Aburawi .

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Aburawi, N., Coenen, F., Lisitsa, A. (2020). Querying Encrypted Data in Graph Databases. In: Khalaf, M., Al-Jumeily, D., Lisitsa, A. (eds) Applied Computing to Support Industry: Innovation and Technology. ACRIT 2019. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1174. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38752-5_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38752-5_29

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38751-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-38752-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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