VAULT

Project Information

VAULT

Grant agreement ID: 190121563

DOI

10.3030/190121563

Project closed

EC signature date 27 February 2023

Start date 1 March 2023

End date 28 February 2025

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 3 545 125,00

EU contribution

€ 2 465 750,00

Coordinated by

VAULTREE LIMITED
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - VAULT (VAULT)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In an increasingly digital and cloud-based economy, the need to secure sensitive data throughout its lifecycle has never been more urgent. Traditional encryption methods protect data at rest and in transit, but fail to preserve privacy when the data is in use — for example, during querying, processing, or analysis. This gap leaves organisations vulnerable to breaches, leaks, and non-compliance with evolving regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), HIPAA, and NIS2. The VAULT project addresses this challenge by developing pioneering technologies that allow data to remain encrypted even while being processed. By enabling fully encrypted operations — known as data-in-use encryption — the project empowers organisations to run advanced analytics, collaborate across borders, and remain compliant without ever exposing raw data. The core goal of the project is to remove the trade-off between usability and security by building practical, performant encryption solutions. This vision is realised through two major innovations: A Software Development Kit (SDK) that integrates into enterprise systems and enables encrypted SQL queries, arithmetic operations, and analytics. Vaultree Encrypted Data Sharing (VEDS), a finalised, enterprise-ready encrypted database-as-a-service (EDBaaS) solution supporting multi-party encrypted collaboration.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The SDK was developed and optimised with modules like SQLCrypt for encrypted SQL parsing, VENUM for homomorphic operations, VEFS for encrypted functions, and CKM/DMET for secure key and data management. These modules support PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Google BigQuery. EDBaaS(VEDS) was built on top of the SDK and finalised as a centralised encrypted data collaboration platform. It supports structured queries on encrypted data (JOIN, GROUP BY, aggregate functions), and has been integrated with Google Cloud and AWS infrastructure. FPGA and GPU acceleration were researched and prototyped to support high-performance encrypted computations. 22 patents were developed as part of the project — 1 granted, 13 filed, and 8 in preparation for submission. Proof-of-concept trials were completed with multiple partners including Irish Times, Post Luxembourg, Nitro (old GoNitro), and CRH, validating the technology in healthcare, media, and enterprise security use cases.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Key Scientific & Technological Advancements
- Fully Encrypted Data Processing: Developed SQLCrypt, VEFS, and VENUM to enable real-time encrypted queries and computations without decryption.
-Homomorphic Encryption Acceleration: Researched GPU and FPGA to enhance scalability and efficiency.
-BigQuery Integration: Enabled secure encrypted analytics with optimisations for partitioning, clustering, and column-level security.
-DMET Tool: Facilitates seamless data migration and encryption for enterprise adoption.
-Patent-Protected Innovation: Filed 22 patents (1 granted, 13 filed, 8 in submission), reinforcing leadership in encrypted data processing.

Potential Impact & Industry Adoption
-Enterprise-Ready Security: VEDS provides fully encrypted cloud databases for practical data privacy.
-Regulatory Compliance: Supports GDPR, HIPAA, and data sovereignty, enabling zero-trust architectures.
-Multi-Cloud Compatibility: Supports AWS, Google Cloud, and PostgreSQL, ensuring smooth integration.

Key Needs for Further Uptake & Success
-Research & Demonstration: Continued R&D in post-quantum encryption and real-world pilot projects.
-Standardisation & IPR: Collaboration with regulators and providers to define encryption frameworks and strengthen IP protection.
-Enterprise Readiness: Advance MPC and federated learning, plus workforce training in cybersecurity best practices.

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