(#026) ZKPs - to know and not to know - Anurudh Peduri

Date and Time: 27-03-2021, 19:30 - 21:00 IST

Abstract

A Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is a protocol in which a prover proves something to a verifier without revealing any extra "information". For instance, this is very useful in cryptography - to have authentication with privacy. You want to prove that it is indeed you, without revealing your own identity.

I aim to motivate and explore the field of zero knowledge proofs. I'll start of with a couple of two-player game settings, and then formalize the solving process as an interactive proof system and then ZKP. Then we'll discuss it's relation to other classes, and a brief sketch of those proofs.

Prerequisites

Basic complexity definitions - Languages, decidability, P, NP etc. P.s. The prerequisites are very simple, and I'll briefly explain them at the very start. So even if you are new to complexity theory, this is a really nice starting point.

Resources

Arora, Barak - Computational Complexity: A Modern Approach - Chapter 8