PRACTICAL SECRECY-PRESERVING, VERIFIABLY CORRECT AND TRUSTWORTHY AUCTIONS

A system and method for conducting verifiably correct auctions that preserves the secrecy of the bids while providing for verifiable correctness and trustworthiness of the auction is disclosed. Some of the elements of the method and apparatus are that the auction operator accepts all bids submitted and follows the published rules of the auction. In one embodiment, the bids are maintained secret from the auctioneer and all bidders until the auction closes and no bidder is able to change or repudiate her bid. In another embodiment, the auction operator computes the auction results and publishes proofs of the results' correctness. In yet another embodiment, any party can check these proofs of correctness via publicly verifiable computations on encrypted bids.