Proxy re-encryption (PRE) schemes are cryptosystems which allow third parties (proxies) to alter a ciphertext which has been encrypted for one party, so that it may be decrypted by another.

Examples of use

A proxy re-encryption is generally used when one party, say Bob, wants to reveal the contents of messages sent to him and encrypted with his public key to a third party, Charlie, without revealing his private key to Charlie. Bob does not want the proxy to be able to read the contents of his messages. Bob could designate a proxy to re-encrypt one of his messages that is to be sent to Charlie. This generates a new key that Charlie can use to decrypt the message. Now if Bob sends Charlie a message that was encrypted under Bob's key, the proxy will alter the message, allowing Charlie to decrypt it. This method allows for a number of applications such as e-mail forwarding, law-enforcement monitoring, and content distribution. A weaker re-encryption scheme is one in which the proxy possesses both parties' keys simultaneously. One key decrypts a plaintext, while the other encrypts it. Since the goal of many proxy re-encryption schemes is to avoid revealing either of the keys or the underlying plaintext to the proxy, this method is not ideal.

Defining functions

Proxy re-encryption schemes are similar to traditional symmetric or asymmetric encryption schemes, with the addition of two functions: Proxy re-encryption should not be confused with proxy signatures, which is a separate construction with a different purpose.