Zero-knowledge technologies in IoT are the gateway to billions of adoption.

Zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is currently in progress. groundbreaking moment In the blockchain field. This is not surprising, considering that ZKP provides a viable solution to the scalability problem without sacrificing verifiability. however, Various use cases and benefits Among ZK technologies, personal information protection is currently the least utilized area in the blockchain area. Most of ZK is used to verify honest computations and reduce computational demands. Nonetheless, with the rapid increase in networked IoT devices, ZK could soon be utilized to ensure user safety and privacy.

A major challenge in positioning ZK technology as a “solution” for protecting personal data and human identities is that most people do not see the status quo as a problem. Sure, Web2 infrastructure may be full of flaws, but it’s something people are used to using and convincing them to upgrade to another solution is an incremental task that takes time and marketing.

However, not all data is personal data. There is a growing need to address security gaps in the growing Internet of Things market, which will also open up enormous data opportunities. By the end of next year Over 30 billion Online usage of IoT devices has increased nearly 125% in four years. McKinsey estimates IoT has an economic value of up to $12 trillion, but businesses are struggling to capture this value.

An important reason for this is that there is no way to reliably identify a specific device in a trustless manner. The absence of an identity solution means that the data collected, computed or transmitted by IoT devices is at best suspect or at worst unverifiable and thus completely useless.

This may not seem like a big deal for many different types of connected devices. In fact, some people actively resent the idea of ​​household devices like their toothbrush or refrigerator collecting and transmitting data about their personal habits. However, IoT devices are handling massive amounts of very sensitive data. Data collected through devices such as surveillance cameras, military drones, or wearable medical technology pacemaker Since it affects human life, it must be proven to be safe and reliable.

This is where ZK technology can play a role, as it has already done in the blockchain space, where ZKP is deployed for data verification. For example, in Filecoin, users storing files must send ZKP to a full node to prove that their files are safe and uncorrupted, and Subsquid uses ZKP to ensure that all on-chain data is stored on nodes in the data lake. Efficient querying and indexing.

Although it is very early days, developments are starting to take off, providing tremendous opportunities for innovators in the blockchain, data, and IoT fields. For example, the Integrated Trust Network (ITN) is a Web3 infrastructure that provides trusted identities for IoT commerce. W3C standard For decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials. ITN is a product of: Moby The Web3 consortium of transportation and mobility companies developed Citopia. Citopia is a decentralized business network for zero trust IoT transactions leveraging the ITN identity protocol. ZKP is used for trustless identification of devices, enabling secure communication and transactions between connected devices and the enterprise’s network.

Given the value and sensitivity of location-based data, it is not surprising that this sector is one of the first to focus on the IoT, data and identity sector. Because location is considered personally identifiable information, it is protected by law in many jurisdictions. The ability to determine the location of a device or object without revealing it is critical to the security of the device and the people who use it, and the integrity of the data it collects and transmits.

There are other benefits to establishing IoT devices as secure and trusted data sources. You can integrate your data with querying and indexing services to make it more accessible and usable by other applications. Data may also represent revenue opportunities for individuals and/or businesses.

Additionally, increased adoption and development of ZK technologies in connected devices could help fuel and drive the adoption of ZKP-based identity solutions for humans at a faster pace.

ZK technology has undoubtedly proven to transform Web3 infrastructure, but we must move away from the mindset that limits adoption success to human users. This is especially true if you have a pressing problem with the estimated 30 billion IoT devices and are looking for a zero-knowledge solution.

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