LEVERAGING DECENTRALIZED IDENTITY WITH ZK-SNARKS TO ENHANCE SECURITY IN CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

Cloud computing has transformed the storage, 
processing, and access of data. Nonetheless, this 
movement to centralized cloud-based infrastructure 
comes with its own set of problems, mainly around data 
privacy and security, especially in identity management 
and authentication. In these scenarios, decentralized 
identity (DID) systems combined with innovative 
cryptographic calculus solutions such as Zero
Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of 
Knowledge (ZK-SNARKs) can provide a compelling 
potential solution. Our solution attempts to provide 
greater security, whilst allowing user privacy by 
decentralising the control over identity providers and 
using cryptographic proofs. In the current paper, we 
highlight the basic principles of decentralized identity 
and ZK-SNARKs, introduce fundamental algorithms 
involved, and propose an architecture for their 
realization. This paper also covers the application of 
Decentralized Identity (DID) and ZK-SNARKs. This 
model is proposed to handle identity verification securely 
that also maintains privacy rights and minimizes the risk 
of leaks at the same time.