Secure Remote Genome-wide Association Studies Using Fully Homomorphic Encryption

Abstract

As genomic data become more widely available, the need for powerful computing resources to process the large volume of data becomes more critical. As a result, researchers are now gearing towards cloud computing. However, there is loss of direct control by the researchers upon their data as they outsource computations, leaving the donors of genomic data vulnerable to exploitation. Homomorphic encryption has become a technique of interest in providing genomic privacy in outsourced computation as it preserves the utility of data in mathematical opera- tions. It is a cryptographic technique that allows the encryption of data and then carrying out computation without decryption. This study proposes a scheme that uses fully homomorphic encryption, using Simple Arithmetic Encrypted Library (SEAL), developed by Microsoft Research.