Cryptology ePrint Archive: Report 2007/389

Interactive and Noninteractive Zero Knowledge Coincide in the Help Model

Dragos Florin Ciocan and Salil Vadhan

Abstract: We show that a problem in $\AM$ has a interactive zero-knowledge proof system {\em if and only if} it has a noninteractive zero knowledge proof system in the `help model' of Ben-Or and Gutfreund ({\em J. Cryptology}, 2003). In this model, the shared reference string is generated by a probabilistic polynomial-time dealer who is given access to the statement to be proven. Our result holds for both computational zero knowledge and statistical zero knowledge, and does not rely on any unproven complexity assumptions.

We also show that help does not add power to interactive computational zero-knowledge proofs, paralleling a result of Ben-Or and Gutfreund for the case of statistical zero knowledge.

Category / Keywords: foundations / cryptography, computational complexity, noninteractive

Date: received 3 Oct 2007

Contact author: florin ciocan at gmail com

Available format(s): PDF | BibTeX Citation

Version: 20071004:125433 (All versions of this report)

Short URL: ia.cr/2007/389

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