Taste-based authentication to securely share data

An apparatus comprising:

• an encryption manager having logic, the logic configured to:
• generate a first pseudonym to at least temporarily identify a first computing device associated with a first user having a first taste related to an area of interest, the first taste having a multi-dimensional attribute value;
• generate a first session key to be used with the pseudonym to securely share data maintained on the first computing device with one or more other computing devices;
• generate a transformation parameter;
• transform the multi-dimensional attribute value for the first taste to a one-dimensional attribute value using the transformation parameter;
• encrypt the pseudonym and the session key using the one-dimensional attribute value in order to generate a first ciphertext;
• and
• send the first ciphertext and the transformation parameter to a server accessible to both the first computing device and the one or more other computing devices, wherein the server maintains the first ciphertext and the transformation parameter.

A computing device comprising:

• an application having logic to generate a taste for a user of the computing device, the first taste related to an area of interest and having a multi-dimensional attribute value;
• and
• a decryption manager having logic, the logic configured to:
• receive a ciphertext and a transformation parameter from a server, the ciphertext and the transformation parameter generated by another computing device;
• receive the multi-dimensional attribute value from the application;
• transform the multi-dimensional attribute value for the taste to a one-dimensional attribute value using the transformation parameter;
• decrypt the ciphertext using the one-dimensional attribute value in order to obtain a pseudonym identifying the other computing device and to obtain a session key to be used with the pseudonym to securely share data with the other computing device;
• determine a quality of the decryption;
• and
• initiate a security session with the other computing device to share data based, at least in part, on the determined quality of the decryption exceeding a threshold value.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory medium having instructions to be implemented at a first computing device, which, when executed by logic, cause the logic to:

• receive a first ciphertext and a transformation parameter from a server, the first ciphertext and the transformation parameter generated by a second computing device;
• receive a first taste for a first user of the first computing device, the first taste related to an area of interest and having a multi-dimensional attribute value;
• transform the multi-dimensional attribute value for the first taste to a one-dimensional attribute value using the transformation parameter;
• decrypt the first ciphertext using the one-dimensional attribute value in order to obtain a pseudonym identifying the second computing device and to obtain a session key to be used with the pseudonym to securely share data with the second computing device;
• determine a quality of the decryption;
• and
• initiate a security session with the second computing device to share data based, at least in part, on the determined quality of the decryption exceeding a threshold value.