Too Many Options: A Survey of ABE Libraries for Developers

Abstract: Attribute-based encryption (ABE) comprises a set of one-to-many encryption schemes that allow the encryption and decryption of data by associating it with access policies and attributes. Therefore, it is an asymmetric encryption scheme, and its computational requirements limit its deployment in IoT devices. There are different types of ABE and many schemes within each type. However, there is no consensus on the default library for ABE, and those that exist implement different schemes. Developers, therefore, face the challenge of balancing efficiency and security by choosing the suitable library for their projects. This paper studies eleven ABE libraries, analyzing their main features, the mathematical libraries used, and the ABE schemes they provide. The paper also presents an experimental analysis of the four libraries which are still maintained and identifies some of the insecure ABE schemes they implement. In this experimental analysis, we implement the schemes offered by these libraries, measuring their execution times on architectures with different capabilities, i.e., ARMv6 and ARMv8. The experiments provide developers with the necessary information to choose the most suitable library for their projects, according to objective and well-defined criteria.