CT-ISG: Collaborative Research: Towards Trustworthy Database Systems

数据库查询的答案通常构成关键决策的基础。为了提高效率和可靠性，这些查询的答案可以由靠近查询客户端的分布式服务器提供。然而，由于服务器的普遍性，与完全保护它们相关的物流可能是禁止的;此外，当服务器由第三方运行时，客户端可能不像信任原始数据所有者那样信任它们。因此，由服务器响应于客户端的查询而提供的答案的真实性必须由客户端验证。更一般地说，如果数据库响应包含其自身正确性的证据，则数据库响应更有用。例如，这使消费者能够向债权人提供她自己的信用报告，而无需债权人向报告机构要求报告以确定报告的有效性。该项目正在开发用于验证各种数据库查询的有效性和真实性的方法，包括一般关系，数据立方体和时空查询。此外，正在开发使用强大的密码原语的技术，以提供认证和机密性。这项研究将使这种基础设施在用户必须依赖答案的真实性的应用中得到利用，例如在金融系统、网络监控、流量控制或尚未想象的应用中。这一项目的成果将通过期刊和会议上的出版物传播。此外，这些方法的源代码将以库的形式在网上提供。

Answers to database queries often form the basis for critical decision-making. To improve efficiency and reliability, answers to these queries can be provided by distributed servers close to the querying clients. However, because of the servers' ubiquity, the logistics associated with fully securing them may be prohibitive; moreover, when the servers are run by third parties, the clients may not trust them as much as they trust the original data owners. Thus, the authenticity of the answers provided by servers in response to clients' queries must be verifiable by the clients. More generally, database responses are more useful if they contain the evidence of their own correctness. For example, this enables a consumer to provide her own credit report to a creditor without having the creditor request it from the reporting agency to establish the validity of the report. This project is developing methods for authenticating the validity and authenticity of a variety of database queries, including general relational, data cube, and spatio-temporal queries. Furthermore, techniques that use powerful cryptographic primitives are being developed for providing authentication and confidentiality. This research will enable utilization of this infrastructure in applications where users must rely on the authenticity of the answer, such as in financial systems, network monitoring, traffic control, or applications yet to be imagined. The results of this project will be disseminated through publications in journals and conferences. Furthermore, source code of these methods, in the form of libraries, will be made available over the web.