Time-based attribute-based proxy re-encryption with decryption key update

Abstract

Proxy re-encryption (PRE) is a cryptosystem that realizes efficient encrypted data sharing by allowing a third party proxy to transform a ciphertext intended for a delegator (i.e., Alice) to a ciphertext intended for a delegatee (i.e., Bob). Attribute-based proxy re-encrypftion (AB-PRE) generalizes PRE to the attribute-based scenarios, enabling fine-grained access control on ciphertexts. However, the existing AB-PRE schemes do not adequately address the following problems: (1) the risk of decryption key leakage, and (2) the need of time-based delegation. To resolve these problems, we introduce a primitive called time-based attribute-based proxy re-encryption (TB-AB-PRE) with decryption key update. TB-AB-PRE associates keys with the current time information and supports efficient periodical decryption key update for each time transition. This property guarantees that a compromise of a decryption key for some time does not breach the security of ciphertexts from the others. Leveraging this time-based property, the proposed TB-AB-PRE elegantly achieves time-based delegation which enables Alice to decide which ciphertexts can be transformed and their decryptable timeframe after being transformed. The proposed construction is proven to be secure against honest re-encryption attacks with decryption key exposure resistance, under the learning with errors assumption.