ENCRYPT Blog Series #12: Understanding Fuzzy Logic in the ENCRYPT Project

What is Fuzzy Logic?

Imagine you're trying to describe how hungry you are. It's not just 'hungry' or 'not hungry'; there's a whole range of feelings in between. That's where fuzzy logic comes in. Unlike traditional decision-making systems that see the world in black and white, fuzzy logic embraces the gray areas. It provides a way of processing information that mimics how humans make decisions, based on natural language rules. Instead of exact numbers, it uses approximate or subjective information to make sense of complex problems. So, when we deal with terms like 'pretty hungry' or 'almost supper time', fuzzy logic helps a computer understand these vague concepts and make decisions, just like a human would.

What is Fuzzy Logic?

Imagine you’re trying to describe how hungry you are. It’s not just ‘hungry’ or ‘not hungry’; there’s a whole range of feelings in between. That’s where fuzzy logic comes in. Unlike traditional decision-making systems that see the world in black and white, fuzzy logic embraces the gray areas. It provides a way of processing information that mimics how humans make decisions, based on natural language rules. Instead of exact numbers, it uses approximate or subjective information to make sense of complex problems. So, when we deal with terms like ‘pretty hungry’ or ‘almost supper time’, fuzzy logic helps a computer understand these vague concepts and make decisions, just like a human would.

Hardware Acceleration for FHE

In today’s digital age, safeguarding personal data while facilitating research and development is paramount. The ENCRYPT project emerges as a beacon of innovation in this domain, aiming to strike a balance between privacy preservation and the seamless processing of data.

At the heart of ENCRYPT is the development of a cutting-edge framework designed to empower researchers and developers. This framework enables them to navigate the complex landscape of data privacy with ease, ensuring compliance with GDPR. A pivotal challenge in this endeavor is the selection of the appropriate privacy-preserving technology (PPT) tailored to each specific scenario. ENCRYPT’s novel approach involves an AI-based recommendation engine, which is akin to a knowledgeable guide, leveraging scenario descriptions input by users to suggest the most fitting technologies and configurations. It considers various factors, including the sensitivity of the data, its intended use, and the resources available. What sets this engine apart is its ability to not only make recommendations but also provide rationale behind these suggestions, fostering a deeper understanding and trust among users.

ENCRYPT incorporates three primary PPTs, each with its unique strengths:

  • Differential Privacy: Ensures the anonymity of data by introducing statistical noise. This technique allows for the analysis of data sets while safeguarding individual identities, making it a robust tool for privacy preservation.
  • Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE): A revolutionary approach that enables computations on encrypted data without the need for decryption. FHE allows for the secure processing of data, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected throughout the analysis.
  • Trusted Execution Environment (TEE): Provides a secure area within a processor, where data can be processed with high levels of security. TEEs ensure that the data and the processing tasks are isolated from the rest of the system, offering a secure enclave for sensitive operations.

The recommendation engine carefully evaluates user scenarios, recommending the most suitable PPT or combination thereof, along with the optimal configuration. This bespoke approach ensures that each project is equipped with the most effective privacy-preserving measures, tailored to its specific needs. In essence, the ENCRYPT project represents a significant leap forward in the field of data privacy. By harnessing the power of AI to navigate the complexities of privacy-preserving technologies, it offers a sophisticated toolkit for researchers and developers.

Applying Fuzzy Logic in ENCRYPT: A Detailed Example

In our latest update to the ENCRYPT project, we are taking a big step forward by adding fuzzy logic to our recommendation engine. Here’s how we’re using it in ENCRYPT:

  1. Understanding the Situation: Our engine looks at a lot of different factors about the data it’s protecting, like how sensitive it is, how big it is, how hard it is to work with, how quickly it needs to be processed, and the quality we’re aiming for. It rates each of these factors on a scale (for example, from low to high).
  2. Turning Numbers into Concepts: This is where fuzzy logic shines. It takes those ratings and turns them into categories like ‘low’, ‘medium’, and ‘high’. This helps the system understand the situation in more human terms. We plan to define even more categories to get even better at this.
  3. Making the Decision: The engine then goes through a three-step process with this fuzzy logic:
    • Fuzzification: It takes the numeric ratings and turns them into these fuzzy categories based on certain rules.
    • Fuzzy Inference: It looks at all the rules and figures out which ones apply to the current situation, how strongly they apply, and what that means for what we should do.
    • De-fuzzification: Finally, it takes all that fuzzy thinking and turns it back into a clear, numeric recommendation on how to best protect the data.

By using fuzzy logic, ENCRYPT’s engine can make more nuanced decisions. It understands the complexities of different situations, allowing it to offer recommendations that are just right for each specific scenario. This means better protection for data, making sure it’s kept safe in a way that’s tailored to its unique needs.