Hermes: Bridging Relational and Algebraic Abstractions in Homomorphically Encrypted Databases

Dongfang Zhao

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) promises the ability to compute over encrypted data without revealing sensitive contents. Yet, integrating it into real-world relational databases remains elusive due to prohibitive performance overhead and the structural mismatch between mutable database records and static ciphertexts. This paper presents Hermes, a system that enables homomorphically encrypted vectorized relational queries directly inside a standard SQL engine. To bridge the relational and algebraic abstractions, Hermes introduces a SIMD-aware data model that packs multiple records per ciphertext. By embedding precomputed aggregate statistics alongside data slots, the system supports efficient rotation-free aggregations. Furthermore, to overcome ciphertext immutability, we develop data-oblivious homomorphic algorithms based on slot masking and shifting, enabling secure in-place record modifications. Hermes is implemented as native loadable functions in MySQL, marking the first practical integration of FHE into an industrial-grade relational database engine. Extensive evaluations across diverse datasets demonstrate an over 3400x increase in encryption throughput, an over 4000x speedup for tuple insertions, and a 300x acceleration for deletions when compared to conventional scalar FHE implementations.

picture_as_pdf flag

Knowledge Graph

arrow_drop_up

Comments

Sign up or login to leave a comment