T2: A cross compiler and standardized benchmarks for FHE computation

Overview

T2 is an extensible cross compiler and standardized benchmark suite enabling comparisons between fully-homomorphic encryption (FHE) libraries. The T2 repository comprises the T2 DSL and the T2 compiler from T2 DSL to state-of-the-art FHE back-ends.

T2 aims to offer a standardized benchmark suite for FHE that encompasses realistic use-cases. Additionally, the T2 compiler offers a great starting point to explore the different backends (e.g., HElib, Lattigo, PALISADE, SEAL, and TFHE) as a single T2 program is effortlessly transpiled to all supported FHE libraries.

The T2 compiler supports three distinct computational models: Integer, Binary, and Floating-Point domains. Each domain utilizes different sets of functional units, some of which are inherently supported by the backends, while others are implemented on top of the FHE back-ends. This allows users to compare the different domains and find the most efficient for their applications.

T2 is the spiritual successor to the TERMinator suite repository, which includes benchmarks tailored to encrypted computation. The original Terminator suite targets partially homomorphic architectures, however, since its release, fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) has become increasingly popular and more viable. To account for this, T2 targets FHE architectures by modifying the original benchmarks as well as adding new additions.

How to cite this work

The SoK outlining this framework appears in PoPETS 2023 (the preprint can be accessed here). An earlier journal article describing the original Terminator suite can be accessed here, while the authors' version is available here. You can cite these articles as follows:

@Article{PoPETS:Gouert23sok,
  author =       "Charles Gouert and
                  Dimitris Mouris and
                  Nektarios Georgios Tsoutsos",
  title =        "{SoK: New Insights into Fully Homomorphic Encryption Libraries via Standardized Benchmarks}",
  volume =       2023,
  month =        Jul,
  year =         2023,
  publisher =    sciendo,
  journal =      "{Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies}",
  number =       3,
  pages =        "154–172",
  doi =          "10.56553/popets-2023-0075",
}

@Article{IEEECAL:Mouris18terminator,
  author  =     "Dimitris Mouris and
                 Nektarios Georgios Tsoutsos and
                 Michail Maniatakos",
  title   =     "{TERMinator Suite: Benchmarking Privacy-Preserving Architectures}",
  journal =     "IEEE Computer Architecture Letters",
  year    =     "2018",
  volume  =     "17",
  number  =     "2",
  pages   =     "122-125",
  doi     =     "10.1109/LCA.2018.281281"}
}

Supported Homomorphic Encryption Libraries

Lattigo v4.1.0 adf7623
HElib v2.2.2 d7be6f0
PALISADE v1.11.9 3d1f9a3f
Microsoft SEAL v4.1.1 206648d
TFHE v1.0.1 6297bc7

Build and Run Instructions

Building with Docker

• Build the Docker image:

  docker build -t t2 .

• Run the Docker container:

  docker run --rm -i -t t2 bash

Building from Scratch

Tested on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Java 8, 9, and 19. For Lattigo, we used go version 1.17.6 and 1.18.1.

Dependencies

• apt install cmake make build-essential g++ clang autoconf javacc patchelf openjdk-8-jdk maven m4 tar lzip libfftw3-dev

• Go-lang
• Follow and modify clone_libs.sh and build_libs.sh scripts to install the FHE libraries in your custom destinations.

Compile the T2 compiler

mvn initialize package

To skip running the test when compiling the T2 compiler run:

mvn package -Dmaven.test.skip

Compile T2 programs

To compile a T2 program type:

java -jar target/terminator-compiler-1.0.jar <path_to_t2_file> [--debug] <LIB> [--w word_size]

where <LIB> can be one of HElib, Lattigo, SEAL, PALISADE, and TFHE. For instance:

Example of compiling a T2 program for SEAL:

java -jar target/terminator-compiler-1.0.jar src/test/resources/tests/arithmetic.t2 --seal

will use SEAL as the back-end over the integers.

Example of compiling a T2 program for Lattigo in the binary domain:

java -jar target/terminator-compiler-1.0.jar src/test/resources/tests/bin_test.t2 --lattigo --w 6

will use Lattigo as the back-end in the binary domain. The T2 compiler automatically detects the appropriate scheme (i.e., BFV/BGV or CKKS) based on the type of the encrypted variables that the T2 program uses (i.e., EncInt or EncDouble).

Example of compiling a T2 program for SEAL in the floating-point domain:

java -jar target/terminator-compiler-1.0.jar src/test/resources/tests/ckks_test.t2 --seal

will use SEAL with the CKKS scheme.

Trustworthy Computing Group