ZK-proofs are marketed as a miracle cure for many of blockchain’s ills, but some less discussed side effects are introducing fresh risks.
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) are an emerging success story for cryptography and blockchain with multiple use cases, including improved transaction privacy and scalability. ZK technology allows two parties to agree that a claim is true, without any details of the claim being revealed or discussed — hence, the use of the term “zero knowledge.”
There are potential drawbacks to ZK-proofs, however. In November 2023, cybersecurity firm ChainLight publicized the discovery of a soundness bug in the implementation of zkSync Era mainnet. The exploit of that bug could have resulted in the loss of $1.9 billion in funds.
Cointelegraph spoke with ChainLight researcher Tim Becker to better understand the security risks of implementing ZK-proofs.
