On single server private information retrieval in a coding theory perspective

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new perspective of single server private information retrieval (PIR) schemes by using the notion of linear error-correcting codes. Many of the known single server schemes are based on taking linear combinations between database elements and the query elements. Using the theory of linear codes, we develop a generic framework that formalizes all such PIR schemes. Further, we describe some known PIR schemes with respect to this code-based framework, and present the weaknesses of the broken PIR schemes in a generic point of view.