iTnews
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Strategy

Microsoft releases encryption tech for bioinformatics

By Juha Saarinen on Nov 16, 2015 6:54AM
Microsoft releases encryption tech for bioinformatics

Allows researchers to work on data securely.

Microsoft has released tools that allow bioinformatics researchers to work on genome data sets securely to protect privacy.

Genomic data is becoming available in increasing amounts as gene sequencing becomes easier, cheaper and faster, and is used for several new applicaitons such as predicting the occurrence and survival of cardiovascular disease.

Hospitals, clinics, companies and other insitutions are faced with handling large amounts of such data securely, to ensure the privacy of subjects, but this carries risks.

Storing the data in a cloud is one solution to handle large amounts of information, but this is subject to legal orders, data misuse, theft and insider attacks, a team of six Microsoft researchers said.

Homomorphic encryption can protect people's sensitive genetic information and still allow researchers to work with the data.

The technique allows an unlimited amount of two operations, addition and multiplication, on the scrambled material.

This means researchers are able to work on the data in encrypted form without having to decrypt it or have access to decryption keys.

Traditional encryption, in comparison, locks down data, making it impossible to use or compute on without decoding it first.

The Microsoft team of researchers have written a manual for how to use their homomorphic encryption solution, as a guide to using the technique for bioinformatics and genomic computations.

Along with the manual, Microsoft will also release the SEAL (simple encrypted arithmetic library) as a free download, to be used for experimentation and research purposes.

Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © iTnews.com.au . All rights reserved.
Tags:
bioinformaticshomomorphic encryptionmicrosoftsecuritystrategy

Partner Content

How to turn digital complexity into competitive advantage
Promoted Content How to turn digital complexity into competitive advantage
Avoiding CAPEX by making on-premise IT more cloud-like
Promoted Content Avoiding CAPEX by making on-premise IT more cloud-like
Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
Promoted Content Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
Why rethinking your CMS is crucial for customer retention
Promoted Content Why rethinking your CMS is crucial for customer retention

Sponsored Whitepapers

Free eBook: Digital Transformation 101 – for banks
Free eBook: Digital Transformation 101 – for banks
Why financial services need to tackle their Middle Office
Why financial services need to tackle their Middle Office
Learn: The latest way to transfer files between customers
Learn: The latest way to transfer files between customers
Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see

Events

  • Forrester Technology & Innovation Asia Pacific 2022
By Juha Saarinen
Nov 16 2015
6:54AM
0 Comments

Related Articles

  • WA gov expands Microsoft enterprise agreement
  • Austrian spy firm accused by Microsoft says hacking tool was for EU states
  • Microsoft says Austrian firm behind spyware targeting law firms, banks
  • Coming Microsoft API change will break third-party device authentication
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Whatsapp Email A Friend

Most Read Articles

Telstra deregisters 900MHz sites “hindering” Optus 5G rollout

Telstra deregisters 900MHz sites “hindering” Optus 5G rollout

Aussie Broadband nears end of NBN PoI fibre rollout

Aussie Broadband nears end of NBN PoI fibre rollout

Australian court finds insurer not liable for ransomware clean-up costs

Australian court finds insurer not liable for ransomware clean-up costs

Defence, DEWR drop $160m on Microsoft software, Azure

Defence, DEWR drop $160m on Microsoft software, Azure

Digital Nation

Domino’s invests in observability for zero contact delivery
Domino’s invests in observability for zero contact delivery
Australia will lose 11 percent of jobs to automation by 2040: Forrester
Australia will lose 11 percent of jobs to automation by 2040: Forrester
Megatrends shaping the next 20 years: CSIRO
Megatrends shaping the next 20 years: CSIRO
COVER STORY: How KPMG, Mirvac and ASX use blockchain to build trust in the property sector
COVER STORY: How KPMG, Mirvac and ASX use blockchain to build trust in the property sector
Criteo to fork out $94.7m for consent breaches
Criteo to fork out $94.7m for consent breaches
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.