# secret sharing

> method for sharing a secret in a way that requires multiple parties to collaborate to recover it

**Wikidata**: [Q1386603](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1386603)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_sharing)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/secret-sharing

## Summary  
Secret sharing is a cryptographic method for distributing a secret among multiple parties so that the secret can only be recovered when a predefined number of parties collaborate. It ensures security by preventing any single party from accessing the secret alone. This technique is widely used in secure multi-party computations and data protection systems.

## Key Facts  
- **Classified as**: Cryptographic primitive, cryptographic data processing  
- **Discoverers**: Adi Shamir and George Robert Blakley Jr. (1979)  
- **Subclasses**: Homomorphic secret sharing, verifiable secret sharing, quantum secret sharing  
- **Aliases**: Partage de secret (French), 秘密分散 (Japanese)  
- **Wikidata description**: Method for sharing a secret requiring collaboration to recover  
- **Sitelink count**: 14 (across Wikipedia languages)  
- **Wikipedia languages**: da, de, en, fr, he, ja, ko, nl, pl, ru  
- **Freebase ID**: /m/02bxvb  
- **Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID**: topic/secret-sharing  

## FAQs  
### Q: What is the purpose of secret sharing?  
A: Secret sharing ensures a secret (like a cryptographic key) is securely distributed so that only authorized collaboration can reconstruct it, preventing single-point failures or misuse.  

### Q: Who invented secret sharing?  
A: Adi Shamir and George Robert Blakley Jr. independently developed secret sharing schemes in 1979.  

### Q: How does secret sharing differ from encryption?  
A: Encryption protects data from unauthorized access, while secret sharing distributes control of the secret itself, requiring multiple parties to combine their shares to reveal it.  

## Why It Matters  
Secret sharing is foundational in modern cryptography, enabling secure protocols where computations are performed on encrypted data without decryption.  

### Notable For  
- **Pioneering work**: Independently developed by Adi Shamir and George Blakley in 1979.  
- **Versatility**: Forms the basis for advanced cryptographic protocols like secure multi-party computation.  
- **Resilience**: Ensures secrets remain secure even if some parties are compromised.  

## Body  
### Cryptographic Foundations  
- Secret sharing is classified as a **cryptographic primitive**, serving as a building block for complex cryptosystems.  
- It enables **secure distribution** of sensitive information, such as encryption keys, across multiple entities.  

### Key Variants  
- **Homomorphic secret sharing**: Combines secret sharing with homomorphic encryption for encrypted computations.  
- **Verifiable secret sharing**: Adds verification to ensure parties cannot submit false shares.  
- **Quantum secret sharing**: Extends the concept to quantum mechanics for enhanced security.  

### Historical Context  
- **Developed in 1979** by Adi Shamir (of RSA fame) and George Blakley.  
- Blakley was an American cryptographer (1932–2018) with contributions to mathematics and computer science.  

### Technical Applications  
- Used in **threshold cryptography**, where a minimum number of parties (e.g., "k-out-of-n") must collaborate to reconstruct the secret.  
- Critical for **distributed systems**, such as blockchain and secure voting protocols.  

## Schema Markup  
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Secret sharing",
  "description": "A cryptographic method for distributing a secret among multiple parties, requiring collaboration to recover it.",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2270795",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_sharing"
  ],
  "additionalType": "Cryptographic primitive"
}

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. Quora
3. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)