Novel FrodoPIR data querying system detailed

Open-source web browser Brave has unveiled a new private information retrieval scheme dubbed 'FrodoPIR' that would enable hidden queries to database servers, reports The Hacker News. Such technology could bolster safe browsing, password scanning against compromised databases, and certificate revocation checking, according to Brave. While homomorphic encryption leveraged to enable PIR could either be costly in bandwidth or processing duration, FrodoPIR's offline and online steps enable increased efficiency. "In terms of performance for a database of 1 million KB elements, FrodoPIR requires <1 second for responding to a client query, has a server response size blow-up factor of > 3.6x, and financial costs are ~$1 for answering client queries," said Brave. Brave's new FrodoPIR technology follows Google's move to open-source privacy-enhacing technologies Magritte and Fully Homomorphic Encryption Transpiler. Both technologies "will provide the broader developer community (researchers, governments, nonprofits, businesses and more) new ways to deploy and enhance privacy features in their own work," said Google.