computer science

Microsoft SEAL

Microsoft SEAL is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microsoft SEAL rather than just read about it. In short: Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library or SEAL is a free and open-source cross platform software library developed by Microsoft Research that implements various forms of homomorphic encryption. History Development originally came out of the Cryptonets paper, demonstrating that artificial intelligence algorithms could be run on homomorphically encrypted data.

Key takeaways

Microsoft SEAL belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microsoft SEAL to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microsoft SEAL from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library or SEAL is a free and open-source cross platform software library developed by Microsoft Research that implements various forms of homomorphic encryption.

History Development originally came out of the Cryptonets paper, demonstrating that artificial intelligence algorithms could be run on homomorphically encrypted data. It is open-source (under the MIT License) and written in standard C++ without external dependencies and so it can be compiled cross platform. An official .NET wrapper written in C# is available and makes it easier for .NET applications to interact with SEAL.

Features

Algorithms Microsoft SEAL supports both asymmetric and symmetric (added in version 3.4) encryption algorithms.

Scheme types Microsoft SEAL comes with two different homomorphic encryption schemes with very different properties:

BFV: The BFV scheme allows modular arithmetic to be performed on encrypted integers. For applications where exact values are necessary, the BFV scheme is the only choice. CKKS: The CKKS scheme allows additions and multiplications on encrypted real or complex numbers, but yields only approximate results. In applications such as summing up encrypted real numbers, evaluating machine learning models on encrypted data, or computing distances of encrypted locations CKKS is going to be by far the best choice.

Compression Data compression can be achieved by building SEAL with Zlib support. By default, data is compressed using the DEFLATE algorithm which achieves significant memory footprint savings when serializing objects such as encryption parameters, ciphertexts, plaintexts, and all available keys: Public, Secret, Relin (relinearization), and Galois. Compression can always be disabled.

Availability There are several known ports of SEAL to other languages in active development:

C++ Microsoft SEAL (Microsoft's source)

C#/F# NuGet (Microsoft's official package)

Python PySEAL SEAL-Python tf-seal Pyfhel

JavaScript node-seal sealjs

TypeScript node-seal

References

External links

Microsoft SEAL: Fast and Easy-to-Use Homomorphic Encryption Library SEAL on GitHub

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microsoft SEAL

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microsoft SEAL claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microsoft SEAL before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microsoft SEAL ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microsoft SEAL

In research: Microsoft SEAL appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microsoft SEAL in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microsoft SEAL is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2018 software, Cryptographic software, Free software programmed in C++, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microsoft SEAL outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microsoft SEAL in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microsoft SEAL means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microsoft SEAL out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft SEAL in simple terms?

Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library or SEAL is a free and open-source cross platform software library developed by Microsoft Research that implements various forms of homomorphic encryption. History Development originally came out of the Cryptonets paper, demonstrating that artificial intelligence…

Why does Microsoft SEAL matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microsoft SEAL?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microsoft SEAL.