Privacy on the internet is becoming an increasingly important and complex issue in the era of data and artificial intelligence. Most existing solutions for privacy protection focus on encrypting the content of messages but overlook metadata and traffic patterns, which can also reveal sensitive information about users and systems.
NYM Technologies is a company specializing in privacy and security in the digital space. They develop innovative solutions and products that help users protect their privacy and ensure the security of their data in the online environment.
Main solutions
NYM provides several solutions that allow users and developers to leverage the benefits of mixnets and anonymous networks to enhance their privacy and security online. These include:
- Mixnet
- zk-nym
- Token
- Wallet
Anonymous networks are networks that enable users and applications to exchange messages without revealing their IP addresses and other metadata, using various encryption and obfuscation technologies.
Mixnet
Mixnet is a decentralized mixnet that operates on a blockchain and economic incentives for network nodes. It supports a variety of applications and services that can integrate with it to protect their traffic from observers.
Mixnet consists of three types of nodes: gateways, mixes and providers:
Mixnet nodes are computers that receive, shuffle and send data packets through the network, hiding their IP addresses, metadata and traffic patterns from observers.
- Gateways are entry and exit points for users and applications connecting to the Mixnet. They encrypt and decrypt data packets using the public keys of mix nodes.
- Mixes are the core network nodes that mix data packets, add dummy packets to create noise and delay packet delivery for random intervals. They form three layers or hops in the network: initial, middle and final.
- Providers are nodes that provide services or resources to users and applications connected to the Mixnet. They can be centralized or decentralized.
When a user or application sends a message through the Mixnet, it is encrypted into a fixed-sized packet that contains the recipient, the next mix node and the layer. The packet is then passed through three levels of mixes, each removing one layer of encryption and forwarding the packet along the chain. At the exit of the Mixnet, the packet reaches a gateway, which decrypts it and delivers it to the recipient.
Through this process, Mixnet protects IP addresses and traffic patterns from observers who cannot determine who is sending messages to whom, how often and of what size.
zk-nym
zk-nym is a cryptographic system that allows users to prove their identity or access rights to services without revealing unnecessary personal information. zk-nym integrates with the NYM mixnet, which provides anonymity and untraceability of internet traffic by mixing and reordering data packets transmitted through different network nodes.
zk-nym operates based on two key components: zero-knowledge proofs and coconut credentials - which are anonymous and decentralized.
- Zk-nym credentials are anonymous proofs of identity or access rights to services, generated by the user using their private key and the service’s public key. They do not contain any personal information but allow the user to prove their entitlement to access the service without revealing their private key or the service’s public key.
- Coconut signatures are decentralized signatures generated by a group of validators who verify the correctness of zk-nym credentials. They do not disclose any information about the validators or the user but allow the service to verify that the user possesses valid zk-nym credentials.
When a user wants to access a service, they go through the following steps:
- The user requests a token from the service, providing their public key and desired attributes (e.g., username or role).
- The service verifies the token and sends it to the user along with its public key.
- The user generates zk-nym credentials using their private key and the service’s public key.
- The user sends their zk-nym credentials to validators through the NYM mixnet to obtain coconut signatures.
- The user sends their zk-nym credentials and coconut signatures to the service through the NYM mixnet to gain access to the service.
- The service verifies the zk-nym credentials and coconut signatures and grants access to the service.
Token
Token is a utility token used for the operation of the decentralized NYM mixnet. The token serves to reward mixnet nodes for providing privacy protection services and to pay for services that integrate with the mixnet.
Token operates on a blockchain and uses economic incentives for mixnet nodes. Mixnet nodes are rewarded with NYM tokens for each processed data packet. The more packets a node processes, the more it earns.
Users and applications that want to use services integrated with the mixnet must pay for them using NYM tokens. The more services a user or application uses, the more they spend.
Wallet
NYM wallet is an application that allows users to purchase and store NYM tokens, as well as delegate their stake and bond them. These are important components of a carefully designed token economy that powers the mixnet.
The wallet allows users to perform the following actions with NYM tokens:
- Purchase and securely store NYM tokens in a wallet.
- Bond NYM tokens to a mixnet node to launch it and earn rewards for providing privacy protection services.
- Delegate NYM tokens to another mixnet node to support its reputation and earn a share of its rewards.
- Pay for services integrated with the mixnet using zk-nym credentials, which are anonymous proofs of identity or access rights.
Advantages of NYM
NYM solutions offer several advantages compared to other privacy protection solutions such as VPNs, Tor, or I2P.
- Anonymity. NYM provides a higher level of anonymity as it hides not only message content but also metadata and traffic patterns. It is also resistant to time-based, volume-based, or correlation-based traffic analysis attacks.
- Decentralization and openness. NYM is decentralized and open as it operates on a blockchain and relies on economic incentives for network nodes. It is not dependent on trusted third parties or central authorities that can be compromised or censored.
- Compatibility and integration. NYM supports a variety of applications and services that can integrate with it to enhance their privacy. It can work with any protocol or platform, whether it is Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 and provide access to various resources such as websites, blockchains, wallets, or decentralized applications (DApps).
In conclusion
- NYM is a project that aims to address the internet’s shortcomings related to privacy, security and freedom.
- Mixnet is a technology that allows hiding metadata about who, when and with whom one communicates on the internet. It mixes and encrypts traffic, making it impossible to trace.
- Blockchain is a technology that enables the creation of decentralized and censorship-resistant systems operating on consensus and cryptography. It can provide reliability, transparency and resilience to data and operations.
You can learn more about NYM from official sources:
