Homomorphic Encryption
Formal
Homomorphic encryption is a form of encryption that allows computations to be carried out on ciphertext, thus generating an encrypted result which, when decrypted, matches the result of operations performed on the plaintext.
Practical
Homomorphic encryption is a method of performing calculations on encrypted information without decrypting it first. This is sometimes a desirable feature in modern communication system architectures. Homomorphic encryption would allow the chaining together of different services without exposing the data to each of those services. For example, a chain of different services from different companies could calculate 1) the tax 2) the currency exchange rate 3) shipping, on a transaction without exposing the unencrypted data to each of those services.
