Open Access

REVIEW

Attribute-Based Encryption Methods That Support Searchable Encryption

Daskshnamoorthy Manivannan^*

Department of Computer Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

* Corresponding Author: Daskshnamoorthy Manivannan. Email:

Journal of Cyber Security 2025, 7, 505-531. https://doi.org/10.32604/jcs.2025.072810

Received 04 September 2025; Accepted 30 October 2025; Issue published 28 November 2025

Abstract

Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) secures data by linking decryption rights to user attributes rather than user identities, enabling fine-grained access control. While ABE is effective for enforcing access policies, integrating it with Searchable Encryption (SE)—which allows searching encrypted data without decryption—remains a complex challenge. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of ABE schemes that support SE proposed over the past decade. It critically analyzes their strengths, limitations, and access control capabilities. The survey offers insights into the security, efficiency, and practical applicability of these schemes, outlines the current landscape of ABE-integrated SE, and identifies key challenges and open research problems that need to be addressed for broader adoption in real-world systems.

---

Keywords

---