Ars Technica: A new way to think about data encryption: two-level keys
Current encryption methods are far from perfect—a fact highlighted by the numerous data security breaches that have occurred over the past few years. Technological limitations in the “trusted server” model for encryption and psychological barriers hinder the robust protection of data. A trio of computer science researchers has set out to simplify encryption systems. Their research, which began in 2005, has led to a novel encryption system that they term “functional encryption” greatly simplifies the problem of key complexity.
In a functional encryption system, keys are personalized and only one is needed for a person to gain access to all the data that should be available to them. In addition to simplifying the key process, this idea allows users—with proper access rights—to search encrypted volumes for specific information.
For the mathematically inclined the published research paper.
