Encrypted Spaces: An architecture for collaborative applications
Summary
Encrypted Spaces presents a research-oriented architecture for collaborative apps where data is encrypted and cryptographically verifiable even when stored on untrusted servers. It outlines a five-component model (membership state, verifiable database with an append-only changelog, key management, key retention, and application-defined operations) and a prototype sync engine that exposes familiar data structures while backing them with an encrypted space. The project emphasizes trust-minimized collaboration, with a team from CNRS, Harvard, and Microsoft Research, and clarifies that this is active research with no shipping product yet.