Privacy-Preserving Outsourced Library Resource Data Sharing Scheme Based on Proxy Re-Encryption

In the current digital era, libraries are increasingly incorporating cloud-based solutions to manage extensive collections and provide users with access to diverse resources. However, the adoption of cloud computing introduces critical challenges, particularly in ensuring data confidentiality and protecting user privacy. This paper proposes an innovative privacy-preserving library data sharing method based on proxy re-encryption, specifically designed for cloud environments. Our scheme enables secure outsourcing of library resources to the cloud, ensuring that only authorised users can access these resources. A key innovation of our approach is its ability to conceal users' search queries from the cloud server, safeguarding query privacy. Moreover, library administrators can dynamically update encrypted data stored in the cloud without compromising security. Compared to existing methods, our work introduces a novel access control mechanism that enhances security while significantly reducing communication complexity, requiring only one round of communication - half the amount of prior approaches. Through comprehensive security analysis and performance evaluation, we highlight the distinct advantages of our method in maintaining data confidentiality, integrity, and operational efficiency.