Homomorphic cryptography offers the tantalizing goal of being able to process sensitive information in encrypted form, without needing to compromise on the privacy and security of the citizens and organizations that provide the input data. The HEAT proposal brings together Europe's leading researchers on homomorphic cryptography (KU LEUVEN, UNIVBRIS and UL), with the leading expertise on lattice based cryptanalysis (UPMC), and three industrial partners with existing interests in the field (CRX, NXP and Thales UK). The goal of HEAT is to produce a step change in the efficiency and applicability of this technology. The proposal leverages existing ground breaking research in Europe, and links this with three industrially contributed case studies as a way of grounding the research in practical issues. The case studies proposed by the industrial partners consist of smart grid, statistical analysis to automate the detection of organized crime and shared satellite infrastructure applications. The project will focus on Somewhat Homomorphic Encryption (SHE). Not only is this a stepping stone on the way to Fully Homomorphic Encryption, the partners also believe that SHE is a useful cryptographic tool in its own right. We aim to demonstrate this applicability via our three case studies. Motivated by the three case studies the project will examine new design and implementation techniques for homomorphic cryptography, as well as a thorough security analysis. The security analysis is likely to have wider applicability due to the linkage with post-quantum cryptographic systems based on lattices. The proposed outputs of HEAT are an open source software library to support applications that wish to use homomorphic cryptography. The results of the HEAT project will be highly beneficial to European industry and academic research since they allow for using homomorphic cryptography to be used by a much wider variety of end developers.

The goal of this ETN is to develop advanced cryptographic techniques for the Internet of Things and the Cloud and to create implementations that offer a high level of security and increased usability, for a wide range of physical computation platforms. The ITN will equip a group of 15 early stage researchers with a set of interdisciplinary skills combining mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering that will allow them to create advanced cryptographic solutions that will be available for commercial applications. The 8 partners (including 2 companies) are leading research teams in the area of applied cryptology with a strong track record of collaboration; it is complemented by 6 partner organisations from industry (including 2 SMEs).The training from the ERSs will be guided by a personal development plan. A central component is training by research supported by an intensive program of workshops, summer schools, seminars, research visits, and secondments. The training will be complemented with transferable skills that also support the transfer of research to an industrial context. The management structure of the project is built on a pro-active approach with responsibilization of the fellows. The dissemination and outreach of the project activities target a broad range of stakeholders. The ITN contributes to the ERA by helping to overcome the fragmentation in the area of applied cryptology. The research supports the trust and security component of the Digital Agenda for Europe and responds to the growing attention of EU policy makers for societal needs related to privacy and cybersecurity. The societal relevance and timeliness of this research has been emphasized by revelations made by Snowden, that provide clear evidence of mass surveillance by nation states and of serious weaknesses of our current infrastructure. An essential component of a response to these revelations consists a broad deployment of advanced and innovative cryptographic techniques.