DeepOnion Technology: What is a Zero-Knowlegde protocol 1/2

If you read the DeepOnion whitepaper, you saw that its multi-layered security model also includes a Zero-Knowledge protocol layer. I want to give a an explanation what this exactly means and what advantages it brings to the DeepOnion blockchain. In the first part I will give you an overview which concept is behind the Zero-Knowledge protocol.

The Zero-Knowledge protocol or proof is a method where person A convinces person B, that a specific statement is true without giving a "real" proof nor revealing any information regarding the statement. E.g. person A says he has access to a magic door and he wants person B to believe and verifies it. The simplest way to make person B believe him would be that person A enters the magic door while person B is watching him. In this case person B has the proof that person A speaks the truth, that he has access to the magic door.

But this proof brings also the risk along, that somebody else could watch them and get access to the magic door. To prevent this and protect the secret of entering the magic door the Zero-Knowledge proof is needed.

The image above shows the a cave, where the magic door is shown as a purple line. When entering the cave there a two ways to get to the magic door. Person B, the verifier of person A's statements, waits at the point 4 while person A enters the cave and decides to go either way 1 or way 2 to get to the magic door. When he reaches the door person A enters the caves and goes to point 3. He doesn't know which way person B chose.

Now he wants person A to come back to point 3 using a specific way. If person A has lying and can't enter the magic door he has 50% chance that he chose the same way person B now wants him to come back. If he can enter the magic door he can for sure take the way person B wants him to take. If this experiment gets repeated a several times and person A's statement is true, person A will always come back the way person B wants him to come. In the other case the chance will be only about 50%.

Using this method person A can believe and verify person B's statement without having a real proof and without any information gets exposed.

This protocol can also used in blockchain technology making transactions more private and secure. In the next part I will show you what advantages the Zero-Knowledge protocol will bring to the DeepOnion blockchain.

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