Worldcoin
Foundation
has
introduced
a
new
system
using
Secure
Multi-Party
Computation
(SMPC)
for
biometric
template
protection,
developed
with
cryptography
engineers
from
TACEO.
The
advancement
has
allowed
the
foundation
to
securely
delete
the
previous
iris
code
system.
The
move
is
part
of
the
foundation’s
effort
to
be
more
transparent
after
multiple
countries
raised
concerns
over
its
data
collection
practices.
Data
collection
revamp
The
new
approach,
now
available
open
source
on
GitHub,
encrypts
iris
codes
into
multiple
secret
shares
distributed
among
different
parties. These
parties
collaborate
to
compute
results
over
the
encrypted
data
without
accessing
the
actual
secrets,
ensuring
a
high
level
of
privacy
for
verifying
the
uniqueness
of
biometric
templates.
Worldcoin
Foundation
said:
“By
migrating
to
SMPC,
we’ve
achieved
a
significant
enhancement
in
privacy
protection
for
our
users.
After
securely
transferring
all
iris
codes
to
the
new
system,
we
deleted
the
old
data.”
Recent
optimizations
in
SMPC
protocols
for
machine
learning,
adapted
by
Worldcoin
and
TACEO,
have
made
it
feasible
to
apply
these
protocols
to
iris
code
comparisons.
This
system
allows
Worldcoin
to
verify
an
individual’s
uniqueness
without
decrypting
the
biometric
data.
The
transition
to
this
new
system
was
completed
in
March
2024.
After
extensive
testing,
the
previous
iris
code
system
was
securely
deleted
in
May
2024.
The
new
system
requires
substantial
computing
resources,
including
1152
cores,
3.6TB
of
memory,
and
5
Gbps
bandwidth
across
all
parties
involved.
Regulatory
hurdles
The
development
followed
discussions
with
data
protection
authorities,
particularly
the
Bavarian
Data
Protection
Authority
(BayLDA).
Tools
for
Humanity
and
Worldcoin
Foundation’s
EU
establishment
are
current
participants
in
the
SMPC
system,
with
additional
third-party
participants
under
consideration.
The
announcement
comes
after
Worldcoin
faced
regulatory
hurdles
in
multiple
countries,
including
scrutiny
over
data
privacy
and
security
practices. Authorities
in
several
regions
questioned
the
adequacy
of
Worldcoin’s
measures
to
protect
user
data,
prompting
the
foundation
to
accelerate
its
efforts
in
adopting
more
robust
privacy
technologies.
The
Worldcoin
Foundation’s
adoption
of
SMPC
is
part
of
a
broader
initiative
to
enhance
privacy
and
security.
Other
measures
introduced
in
2024
include
personal
custody
for
secure
personal
information
storage,
the
ability
for
users
to
delete
their
iris
codes,
and
on-site
age
verification
to
prevent
underage
sign-ups.
This
new
SMPC
system
represents
a
significant
milestone
in
the
field
of
biometric
security,
setting
a
new
standard
for
privacy
protection
in
digital
identity
verification.
Mentioned
in
this
article
Go to Source
Author: Assad Jafri
