The city of Buenos Aires has taken a significant step towards enhancing resident privacy by incorporating zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) into its app for accessing city services. This innovative technology allows users to prove something is true about a set of data without revealing that data, thereby providing an additional layer of security and control over personal information.
What are Zero-Knowledge Proofs?
Zero-knowledge proofs are a type of cryptography that has long been used in various applications, including cryptocurrencies. The technology allows users to prove that a statement is true without disclosing any sensitive information related to the statement. For instance, a user can prove they are above a certain age (e.g., 18) without revealing their actual birthdate or address.
QuarkID: A Digital Identity Service for Buenos Aires Residents
The digital identity service, QuarkID, has been integrated into miBA, the city’s seven-year-old app for accessing municipal services and documents. The idea behind this integration is to give 3.6 million porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) greater control over their personal information.
How Does QuarkID Work?
QuarkID uses zero-knowledge proofs in conjunction with a blockchain, specifically the Ethereum layer-2 network ZKsync Era. This serves as a "security anchor," proving that a piece of data existed in a particular form at a particular time. According to Diego Fernandez, Buenos Aires’ secretary of innovation and digital transformation, relying solely on the issue date embedded within the credential data could be problematic, as a malicious issuer could backdate documents.
Benefits of QuarkID
The benefits of QuarkID are numerous:
- Residents can upload more than 60 different types of documents, including birth certificates, gross income tax certificates, and vaccination data. Additional ones will be made available in the coming months.
- No third party, not even the municipality of Buenos Aires, has control over these documents, reducing the risk of identity theft.
- The government or QuarkID cannot track the usage of these credentials, providing an additional layer of security.
Cost-Effective Solution
Not only does QuarkID enhance resident privacy, but it also offers a cost-effective solution for the government. As Fernandez noted, "There are no costs for users, and in fact, it offers a massively reduced cost for the government over traditional methods."
Expansion Beyond Buenos Aires
The experiment extends beyond Buenos Aires. Pilots are underway in various Argentinian regions, with Jujuy and Tucumán rolling out the technology on a larger scale. Luján de Cuyo, a small town in the Mendoza region, is also experimenting on the municipal level.
National Implementation
Fernandez emphasized that Buenos Aires has an IP-sharing agreement with the national government. This means that any technology developed and implemented in the capital city can be shared with the national government. The goal is to implement and test this technology in Buenos Aires, with the hope of scaling nationally.
International Collaboration
Experiments are taking place in other Latin American countries, including Uruguay. Fernandez noted that the city of Buenos Aires and the national government have an IP-sharing agreement, so any technology developed and implemented in the capital city can be shared with the national government.
By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, Buenos Aires has taken a significant step towards enhancing resident privacy while also reducing costs for the government. This innovative technology has far-reaching implications, not only for Argentina but also for other countries looking to enhance their digital identity systems.