Imagine a world where data is securely processed at lightning speed without sacrificing privacy. Welcome to the realm of Nillion's groundbreaking technology, Nil Message Compute (NMC). This section will take you on a journey, unveiling the elements that make NMC an unparalleled solution in the world of decentralized computing.
Section Structure Picture a captivating three-act play; that's how we've structured Section 3. Act One lays the groundwork, traversing the landscape of standard encryption and SMPC, and finally introducing NMC - the star of our show. Act Two delves into NMC's stellar qualities, exploring its performance, decentralization, and security attributes, brilliantly addressing the blockchain trilemma. Act Three brings it all together, showcasing NMC's exceptional processing capabilities.
-
Encryption and Information-Theoretic Security: Nillion uses Information-Theoretic Security (ITS) to ensure the strongest possible security for data processing. ITS is unbreakable even with unlimited computing resources, making it quantum-safe and superior to widely-deployed encryption and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technologies. Unlike encryption, Nillion's data can be transferred, stored, and processed while being kept confidential and private.
-
Comparing ZKP, SMPC, and NMC: ZKP is a popular cryptographic primitive used in blockchain technology for preserving privacy. However, it can't transfer, store, or process data while preserving confidentiality. Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) allows multiple parties to store and process data securely but suffers from scalability issues due to inter-node messaging. NMC solves these problems by offering a decentralized, private, performant, ITS, and the versatile public network (Table 1).
As the curtain rises on Act One, we begin by scrutinizing encryption, the backbone of security in modern systems. We then introduce Information-Theoretic Security (ITS) as a game-changing alternative, opening the door to a world of advanced cryptographic protocols. SMPC protocols, such as SPDZ or BGW, demonstrate the potential of ITS but stumble when it comes to scalability. This is where NMC shines, offering a scalable, ITS-based solution that performs on par with plaintext centralized processing.
In Act Two, we examine NMC's theoretical performance, revealing its potential to outpace SMPC by orders of magnitude. We then explore how NMC can revolutionize decentralized trustless networks, and finally, unveil the main security features that make this protocol a fortress of data protection.
Act Three culminates with a deep dive into NMC's processing capabilities, illustrating how this innovative technology can be harnessed by developers to create a new era of secure, decentralized applications.
As you embark on this journey with us, you'll discover how Nillion's NMC protocol has the power to revolutionize the way we store, process, and secure information, challenging the very foundations of current encryption-based systems. Get ready for a thrilling exploration of a technology that has the potential to shape the future of decentralized computing.