Anonymous Identity Verification Using Encrypted GUIDs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing identity verification systems in zero-knowledge, anonymous systems face vulnerabilities due to shared identifiers between tenant and verification systems, leading to potential privacy compromises and susceptibility to man-in-the-middle attacks, especially when these systems are under separate ownership and control.
Innovation Solution
A verification system that encrypts user tokens with a secret key, allowing for identity validation and enrollment without persistent knowledge of user associations, using private and public transaction receipts with hashes for auditing, stored in immutable and public databases respectively, ensuring secure and anonymous transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a common identifier is shared between tenant system and verification system, then verification can be performed, but user privacy is compromised and the system becomes vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identifier system into multiple components: a global unique identifier (GUID) that is encrypted and stored in the database, and a public key that is shared for verification. This segmentation allows the verification system to use the public key for authentication without exposing the underlying GUID, thereby maintaining verification reliability while protecting user privacy and preventing man-in-the-middle attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic primitives as intermediaries between the tenant system and verification system. The encrypted GUID and public key act as intermediaries that enable verification functionality while preventing direct exposure of the common identifier, thus resolving the contradiction between verification reliability and security vulnerability.
2Device complexity
If simple affirmative or negative response with proof-of-work is provided, then verification process is simplified, but the system becomes susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks with forged responses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cryptographic signatures and encrypted tokens as intermediaries in the verification response. Instead of simple affirmative/negative responses, the system provides cryptographically signed responses that include encrypted GUIDs and public keys. This maintains relative simplicity while preventing forged responses through cryptographic verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary cryptographic signing and encryption to verification responses before they are transmitted. This preliminary anti-action prevents man-in-the-middle attacks by ensuring response authenticity and integrity before the verification process completes, countering potential forgery attempts in advance.
Data Source
AI summary
A verification system using additional factors such as biometrics can provide a tenant system with the ability to verify the identity of an end user. The enrollment and verification can be performed without sharing identity knowledge between the tenant and the verification ensuring the privacy of the end user. The enrollment and verification can also be performed in an auditable way while maintaining anonymity.