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Documents authored by Dittmer, Samuel

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Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.79
On Randomness Complexity of 1-Private Protocols

Authors: Samuel Dittmer and Rafail Ostrovsky

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 374, 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)

Abstract
In the field of information-theoretic cryptography, randomness complexity is a key metric for protocols for private computation, that is, the number of random bits needed to realize the protocol. Although some general bounds are known, even for the relatively simple example of 1-private computation of n-party AND, the exact complexity is unknown. We study two settings. First, we consider the model of Goyal, Ishai, and Song (Crypto '22) where helper parties without any inputs are allowed to assist in the computation. In this setting, we show that two random bits always suffice to compute an arbitrary Boolean circuit C 1-privately: a single designated inputless helper flips the two bits and privately distributes the derived one-time bits to the other helper parties and the input parties as they are needed. We give an explicit construction using seven helper parties per AND gate and three helper parties per XOR gate (plus the single global randomness dealer). Moreover, two random bits are necessary already for the AND functionality (by a reduction to the standard no-helper model together with the lower bound of Kushilevitz, Ostrovsky, Prouff, Rosén, Thillard and Vergnaud (TCC '19), and therefore the worst-case helper-party randomness complexity is exactly 2 bits. Second, in the setting without helper parties, we improve the upper bound from Couteau and Rosén (Asiacrypt '22) on the (asymptotic) randomness complexity of n-party AND from 6 to 5 bits. That is, we give a 1-private protocol for computing the AND of n parties' inputs requiring 5 bits of randomness, for all n ≥ 6. Our construction, like that of Couteau and Rosén, uses a single party to flip the 5 bits and distribute the required derived values during the execution. Our approach to both problems is built around a more systematic exploration of techniques for recycling randomness across sub-computations. As part of resolving the second problem, we isolate an exact local-independence combinatorial object called a Sliding-Window Independence Generator, or a SWIG. A (k,m)-SWIG is a linear generator from a k-bit seed to m ≥ k output bits, where every cyclic length-k sliding window chosen from m output bits is perfectly uniform. We give an explicit (k,m)-SWIG for every k ≥ 1 and every m ≥ k and use a (5,n-1)-SWIG in our no-helper AND protocol.
Cite as

Samuel Dittmer and Rafail Ostrovsky. On Randomness Complexity of 1-Private Protocols. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 79:1-79:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{dittmer_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.79,
  author =	{Dittmer, Samuel and Ostrovsky, Rafail},
  title =	{{On Randomness Complexity of 1-Private Protocols}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{79:1--79:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-428-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{374},
  editor =	{Bhattacharya, Sayan and Nanongkai, Danupon and Benedikt, Michael and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.79},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-264680},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.79},
  annote =	{Keywords: limited independence, bounded independence, k-wise independence, H-wise independent sample spaces, small sample spaces, small probability spaces, local independence, locally independent sample spaces, sliding-window independence, cyclic-window independence, sliding-window independence generators, cyclic-consecutive test arrays, covering arrays, pseudorandom generators, derandomization, randomness complexity, 1-private protocols, secure multiparty computation, n-party AND, helper parties}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2025.7
Linear-Time Secure Merge in O(loglog n) Rounds

Authors: Mark Blunk, Paul Bunn, Samuel Dittmer, Steve Lu, and Rafail Ostrovsky

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 343, 6th Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2025)

Abstract
The problem of Secure Merge consists of combining two sorted lists (which are either held separately by two parties, or secret-shared among two or more parties), and outputting a single merged (sorted) list, secret-shared among all parties. Just as insecure algorithms for comparison-based sorting are slower than merging (i.e., for lists of size n, Θ(n log n) versus Θ(n)), we explore whether an analogous separation exists for secure protocols; namely, if there exist techniques for performing secure merge that are more performant than simply invoking secure sort. We answer this question affirmatively by constructing a secure merge protocol with optimal Θ(n) communication and computation, and Θ(log log n) rounds of communication. Our results are based solely on black-box use of basic secure primitives, such as secure comparison and secure shuffle. Since two-party secure primitives require computational assumptions, while three-party do not, our protocols achieve these bounds against semi-honest adversaries via a computationally secure two-party (resp. an information-theoretically secure three-party) secure merge protocol. Secure sort is a fundamental building block used in many MPC protocols, e.g., various private set intersection protocols and oblivious RAM protocols. More efficient secure sort can lead to concrete improvements in the overall run-time. Since secure sort can often be replaced by secure merge - as inputs (from different participating players) can be presorted - an efficient secure merge protocol has wide applicability. There are also a range of applications in the field of secure databases, including secure database joins, as well as updatable database storage and search, whereby secure merge can be used to insert new entries into an existing (sorted) database. In building our secure merge protocol, we develop several subprotocols that may be of independent interest. For example, we develop a protocol for secure asymmetric merge (when one list is much larger than the other).
Cite as

Mark Blunk, Paul Bunn, Samuel Dittmer, Steve Lu, and Rafail Ostrovsky. Linear-Time Secure Merge in O(loglog n) Rounds. In 6th Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 343, pp. 7:1-7:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{blunk_et_al:LIPIcs.ITC.2025.7,
  author =	{Blunk, Mark and Bunn, Paul and Dittmer, Samuel and Lu, Steve and Ostrovsky, Rafail},
  title =	{{Linear-Time Secure Merge in O(loglog n) Rounds}},
  booktitle =	{6th Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-385-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{343},
  editor =	{Gilboa, Niv},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243573},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Secure Merge, Secure Sort, Secure Databases, Private Set Intersection}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2021.5
Line-Point Zero Knowledge and Its Applications

Authors: Samuel Dittmer, Yuval Ishai, and Rafail Ostrovsky

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 199, 2nd Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2021)

Abstract
We introduce and study a simple kind of proof system called line-point zero knowledge (LPZK). In an LPZK proof, the prover encodes the witness as an affine line 𝐯(t) : = at + 𝐛 in a vector space 𝔽ⁿ, and the verifier queries the line at a single random point t = α. LPZK is motivated by recent practical protocols for vector oblivious linear evaluation (VOLE), which can be used to compile LPZK proof systems into lightweight designated-verifier NIZK protocols. We construct LPZK systems for proving satisfiability of arithmetic circuits with attractive efficiency features. These give rise to designated-verifier NIZK protocols that require only 2-5 times the computation of evaluating the circuit in the clear (following an input-independent preprocessing phase), and where the prover communicates roughly 2 field elements per multiplication gate, or roughly 1 element in the random oracle model with a modestly higher computation cost. On the theoretical side, our LPZK systems give rise to the first linear interactive proofs (Bitansky et al., TCC 2013) that are zero knowledge against a malicious verifier. We then apply LPZK towards simplifying and improving recent constructions of reusable non-interactive secure computation (NISC) from VOLE (Chase et al., Crypto 2019). As an application, we give concretely efficient and reusable NISC protocols over VOLE for bounded inner product, where the sender’s input vector should have a bounded L₂-norm.
Cite as

Samuel Dittmer, Yuval Ishai, and Rafail Ostrovsky. Line-Point Zero Knowledge and Its Applications. In 2nd Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 199, pp. 5:1-5:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{dittmer_et_al:LIPIcs.ITC.2021.5,
  author =	{Dittmer, Samuel and Ishai, Yuval and Ostrovsky, Rafail},
  title =	{{Line-Point Zero Knowledge and Its Applications}},
  booktitle =	{2nd Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography (ITC 2021)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-197-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{199},
  editor =	{Tessaro, Stefano},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2021.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-143249},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITC.2021.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Zero-knowledge proofs, NIZK, correlated randomness, vector oblivious linear evaluation, non-interactive secure computation}
}
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