Cryptology ePrint Archive: Report 2015/446

On the Amortized Complexity of Zero-knowledge Protocols

Ronald Cramer and Ivan Damgård and Marcel Keller

Abstract: We propose a general technique that allows improving the complexity of zero-knowledge protocols for a large class of problems where previously the best known solution was a simple cut-and-choose style protocol, i.e., where the size of a proof for problem instance $x$ and error probability $2^{-n}$ was $O(|x| n)$ bits. By using our technique to prove $n$ instances simultaneously, we can bring down the proof size per instance to $O(|x| + n)$ bits for the same error probability while using no computational assumptions. Examples where our technique applies include proofs for quadratic residuosity, proofs of subgroup membership and knowledge of discrete logarithms in groups of unknown order, interval proofs of the latter, and proofs of plaintext knowledge for various types of homomorphic encryption schemes. We first propose our protocols as $\Sigma$-protocols and extend them later to zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge.

Category / Keywords: cryptographic protocols / Sigma-protocols, zero-knowledge, proof of knowledge, homomorphic encryption, random self-reducible problems

Original Publication (in the same form): IACR-JOC-2014

Date: received 9 May 2015

Contact author: m keller at bristol ac uk

Available format(s): PDF | BibTeX Citation

Version: 20150509:152422 (All versions of this report)

Short URL: ia.cr/2015/446

Discussion forum: Show discussion | Start new discussion