DAO-NET: Sybil Defense by ZKP
Problem
Self Sovereign Identity solutions require a zero knowledge proof defense against Sybil attacks.
Solution
Research an open source zero knowledge proof to protect against Sybil attacks.
Total to date
This is the total amount allocated to DAO-NET: Sybil Defense by ZKP.
About this idea
[IMPACT]
DAO Coders Inc has a requirement for a zero knowledge proof that will identify unique individuals to prevent Sybil attacks (one person having two or more pseudonymous accounts to gain disproportional influence).
The final solution would be a decentralized SSI service which would verify that an individual is unique within the service (using the developed zero knowledge proof), periodically proven to still be alive and issue a digital certification attesting to such to the user.
The user (holder) could then use that certificate as proof to third party verifier organizations (DAOs or otherwise) that the holder wishes to join.
The impact for DAOs, or other organizations, is that they would have a simple method for defending against Sybil attacks and proof of life. Members (holders) would have a single proof of humanity and life certificate that could be used to join many groups while controlling the information that is shared.
This solution tackles the Security and Zero Knowledge Proofs aspects identified in the challenge. A proof of humanity and life Self Sovereign Identity solution is also applicable to the broader Cardano community and would make Cardano a leading ecosystem by providing a uniquely improved service.
Marketing the service to the Cardano community will be done via Town Halls, social media and potentially a broader Marketing Campaign (see the DAO-NET & A2T Marketing proposal for details).
The main risk involves finding a qualified cryptographer willing to perform open source work at a rate that is likely to be funded under Project Catalyst, given their high demand and limited availability. To mitigate this risk, DAO Coders will reach out to IOG and the Cardano Foundation for possible recruiting assistance.
DAO Coders has several strategies to address the potential cost risks:
- By having multiple modular projects in each funding round there is a required overlap of funding to make each project functional on a stand-alone basis however as more projects are funded then the overlap can be used to cover potential shortfalls
- DAO Coders intends to launch a Mission Driven Stake Pool in May to help fund its operations
- Longer term solutions include a merchandising campaign (see the Merchandise Store project) and the DAO-NET: Development Funder project as additional revenue streams.
[FEASIBILITY]
May 2022
- Recruit Cryptographer
- Design Self-Sovereign Identity credential framework
June 2022
- Design Zero Knowledge Proof system for Proof of Humanity and Life
- Prototype Self-Sovereign Identity credentials
July 2022
- Prototype Zero Knowledge Proof system for Proof of Humanity and Life
August 2022
- Combine Self-Sovereign Identity with Zero Knowledge Proof system for Proof of Humanity and Life into complete Sybil Defense prototype
September 2022
- Third Party Software Audit
October 2022
- Test Sybil Defense service on Testnet
November 2022
- Launch Sybil Defense service on Mainnet
Cryptographer ($5,000/month for 6 months): $30,000
Plutus Developer ($2000/month): $14,000
Third Party Software Audit: $10,000
Product Manager ($1,000/month): $7,000
Total: $61,000
Product Manager
- have a holistic understanding of the DAO-NET suite of proposals
- experienced in managing multidisciplinary teams in up to a dozen projects simultaneously
- ability to articulate and fluently translate between business and technical requirements
- able to manage large complex budgets
- experienced in hiring consultants and third party contract negotiations
Lead Developer
- Full stack developer experience
- Plutus development, especially algorithmic DAO smart contract primitive
- Define technical requirements
- Integrate multiple software components into a larger solution
Plutus Developer
- Full stack developer experience
- Plutus development of smart contracts, Plutus Pioneer preferred
Cryptography Developer
- zero knowledge proof experience
- Full stack developer experience
- Identity proof experience, especially Proof of Humanity and Life
Team
Product Manager: Dwayne Collard - 20 years+ IT Consultant, Solutions Analyst, IT Manager, Veteran Community Advisor https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwayne-collard/
Lead Developer: Jude Ben - 9 years+ Software Development , Plutus Smart Contract Development , Cloud and Infrastructure Engineer https://www.linkedin.com/in/judeebene/
Plutus Developer: As part of previous DAO-NET funding, DAO Coders has been building a small pool of, currently 3, contractors. This work will be done by new contractors that will be added to that pool.
Cryptography Developer: Contractor to be determined.
[AUDITABILITY]
Development progress will be tracked using an agile methodology and weekly team meetings. Specific quantitative indicators to be tracked will be Total Number of Pull requests in Github, Total Numbers of Github commits and the Total Number of Errors Fixed.
Success Criteria
- Sybil Defense service is able to determine Proof of Humanity and Life using Zero Knowledge Proofs and issue a corresponding certificate.
- Holders are able to store and selectively use certificate to join organizations.
- Verifier organizations are able to verify certificates to prevent Sybil attacks.
- Relevant software successfully pass security audits from a credible third party
This proposal is a member of the DAO-NET suite of proposals originally submitted in Fund 7 and continued in Fund 8. This proposal is a successor to the DAO-NET: Sybil Defense DAO proposal in Fund 7 however this is a completely different approach to the same root issue.
In Fund 7, the following DAO-NET suite of proposals were funded: DAO-NET: DAO Deployment Platform, DAO-NET: Legal Defense DAO, DAO-NET: Auditor DAO and DAO-NET: Multilingual Translation.
In Fund 7, there were a total of 8 other DAO-NET proposals that were approved but not funded.
All of the DAO-NET suite of proposals are interrelated but each proposal in Fund 7 could be standalone funded. The core DAO smart contract coding was funded with the DAO-NET: DAO Deployment Platform project which means that this work no longer needs to be contingency funded in Fund 8.
DAOs are a paradigm evolution in how societies organize themselves and the DAO-NET vision is to systematically progress towards that evolution by breaking the larger vision down into small incremental steps with each proposal. As part of that vision all DAO Coder Inc intellectual property is intended to be freely shared with the world so that any insights can be duplicated in other experiments to rapidly advance decentralized governance therefore:
- All software developed as part of this proposal will be Open Source under Apache License, version 2.0
- All documentation will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
In Fund 8, DAO Coders Inc has submitted 2 categories of proposals Alternative to Tyranny (A2T) proposals which are decentralized wargame simulator modules for testing decentralized idea implementations against probable authoritarian responses and DAO-NET proposals which are real world implementations that can be implemented immediately.
A2T and DAO-NET share a lot of base smart contract code and are meant to be interoperable to the largest degree and conceptually share similar designs. As new features are added in either suite then the transfer to the other suite of those improvements should be straight forward however since each suite is designed to be independently community run, after launch, this easy interoperability may diverge over time.
In Fund 8, DAO Coders has submitted the following proposals:
Team
DAO Coders Inc is an experienced team of Blockchain developers, Plutus pioneers, Veteran Community Advisors and Solutions Analysts that was incorporated after previous round funding for several DAO-NET suite proposals.
