An Overview of Cryptographic Accumulators


Ozcelik I., Medury S., Broaddus J., Skjellum A.

7th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy (ICISSP), ELECTR NETWORK, 11 - 13 February 2021, pp.661-669 identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Volume:
  • Doi Number: 10.5220/0010337806610669
  • Country: ELECTR NETWORK
  • Page Numbers: pp.661-669
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This paper contributes a primer on cryptographic accumulators and how to apply them practically. A cryptographic accumulator is a space- and time-efficient data structure used for set membership tests. Since it is possible to represent any computational problem where the answer is yes or no as a set-membership problem, cryptographic accumulators are invaluable data structures in computer science and engineering. But, to the best of our knowledge, there is neither a concise survey comparing and contrasting various types of accumulators nor a guide for how to apply the most appropriate one for a given application. Therefore, we address that gap by describing cryptographic accumulators while presenting their fundamental and so-called optional properties. We discuss the effects of each property on the given accumulator's performance in terms of space and time complexity, as well as communication overhead.