NuID

Solution Data Sheet

At a Glance

NuID provides a modern authentication solution that enables your business to authenticate users without having to store or manage their authentication credentials.

  • Eliminates risk of credential breach
  • No disruption to existing login UX
  • Leverages zero knowledge cryptographic protocol

NuID eliminates the need to store passwords.

Authentication is stuck in the shared secret paradigm. Your users need to share their passwords with you and you need to store them for authentication.

This model means that every website and application is storing duplicated identity information in centralized silos that attract cyber criminals like bees to honey.

If you are storing passwords, you are taking a huge risk: passwords and credentials have been targeted in 57% of cyberattacks and breaches, and 81% of breaches result from stolen or weak credentials.

NuID leverages zero knowledge cryptography and distributed ledger technology to eliminate the need for users to share their authentication secrets with anyone – something we call trustless authentication. Now you can manage login for your web and mobile applications without taking on the risk of storing their authentication credentials.

passwords were breached in the last 3 years

5.9 BILLION

NuID eliminates the need to store credentials without requiring any changes to login UX. Unlike authentication solutions that rely on PKI, our SDK doesn’t require users to store and manage private keys or download and use a separate authentication app. Your users can login with passwords, biometrics, and more, all without sharing any sensitive and private data.

The modern login box

How is NuID different?

Authentication Process

  1. User inputs a username/email and a new secret (e.g. password) and the LogN client libraries generate zk reference parameters from the secret.
  2. Username and ZK parameters are sent to the ledger.
  3. ZK parameters posted to ledger.
  4. Ledger returns the unique txid of where the parameters are located.
  5. Username is associated to the txid.
  6. User inputs their secret, and the LogN client libraries generate one-time zero knowledge proof (ZKP) from the secret.
  7. ZKP is forwarded to NuIDs service API.
  8. The service API uses txid to retrieve zk parameters from the ledger.
  9. Verify ZKP against reference parameters.

What is zero knowledge cryptography?

A zero knowledge proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic protocol which allows an individual to mathematically prove they know a piece of information, without sharing that information or anything else about it. The ZKP NuID uses is based on the Schnorr protocol described in the Internet Engineering Task Force's RFC 8235.

How does it work?

During registration, the client device is used to generate public reference parameters from the user's authentication secret, such as a password or biometric. These parameters are non-sensitive and can be shared openly, much like a public key. The reference parameters are immutably stored on a distributed ledger, and used to challenge the user during authentication.

When the user attempts to login, they input their credential on their device, and a zero knowledge proof of the credential is generated and sent to NuIDs API. By running the proving algorithm to compare the proof sent from the client with the reference parameters stored on the ledger, the user can be authenticated without ever revealing private authentication data.

Why does NuID use a distributed ledger?

The NuID service uses a distributed ledger to store the public reference parameters generated from authentication secrets. These parameters are non-sensitive and can be safely shared publicly.

A distributed ledger provides critical tamper-proof and decentralized properties that remove the need for a centralized database and point of failure. Additionally, a public distributed ledger enables users to bring their own identity to multiple services, empowering users to own their own digital identities.

User ownership and privacy-by-design

The LogN client libraries simplify interacting with NuIDs API and can be integrated into almost any authentication flow. We provide lightweight client libraries for user-facing web and native applications.