HoRNS-CNN model: an energy-efficient fully homomorphic residue number system convolutional neural network model for...

Recent advancements in cloud-based machine learning (ML) now allow for the rapid and remote identification of neural-biomarkers associated with common neuro-developmental disorders from neuroimaging datasets. Due to the sensitive nature of these datasets, secure deep learning (DL) algorithms are essential. Although, fully homomorphic encryption (FHE)-based methods have been proposed to maintain data confidentiality and privacy, however, existing FHE deep convolutional neural network (CNN) models still face some issues such as low accuracy, high encryption/decryption latency, energy inefficiency, long feature extraction times, and significant cipher-image expansion. To address these issues, this study introduces the HoRNS-CNN model, which integrates the energy-efficient features of the residue number system FHE scheme (RNS-FHE scheme) with the high accuracy of pre-trained deep CNN models in the cloud for efficient, privacy-preserving predictions and provide some proofs of its energy efficiency and homomorphism. The RNS-FHE scheme's FPGA implementation includes embedded RNS pixel-bitstream homomorphic encoder/decoder circuits for encrypting 8-bit grayscale pixels, with cloud CNN models performing remote classification on the encrypted images. In the HoRNS-CNN architecture, the ReLU activation functions of deep CNNs were initially trained for stability and later adapted for homomorphic computations using a Taylor polynomial approximation of degree 3 and batch normalization to achieve high accuracy. The findings show that the HoRNS-CNN model effectively manages cipher-image expansion with an asymptotic complexity of $$ , offering better performance and faster feature extraction compared to its peers. The model can predict 400,000 neural-biomarker features in one hour, providing an effective tool for analyzing neuroimages while ensuring privacy and security.