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Open Source Monday: zk-SNARKs for Meter Data

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For the fourth installment of our “Open Source Monday” blog series, we provide a demonstration of a mathematical proof called zk-SNARK (an emerging Web3 standard) for energy data.

Today’s Open Source Monday blog is the culmination of a number of previous Web3 open source releases and blog posts.

First, frequent blog readers will know that we’re long-time believers in the potential of Web3 and its ability to accelerate the adoption of clean energy. Our blogs below make that clear:

These blog posts are in line with VIA’s mission to make communities cleaner, safer, and more equitable.

Second, we’ve been committed to creating the best tech stack that (1) supports the transition to clean energy and, at the same time, (2) maintains data privacy:

Finally, it’s clear that the “time is now” for the clean energy transition.

So, now that you’re caught up on the importance of Web3 at VIA, let’s get to the good stuff.

Today, we’re demonstrating a zk-SNARK version of our proof for meter data. For those zk-SNARK fans out there, we’ve got a short video for you that shows step-by-step the contracts and code we have created to verify consumer electricity meter data and maintain strict data privacy.

With the integration of this proof, VIA’s Skylight application enables energy consumers to profit from interest in their data, while keeping their identities completely anonymous. We’re excited that Skylight is ready to support consumers and power providers globally. Stay tuned for more exciting commercial announcements in the next month on this topic. In the meantime, you can find more details in our Skylight white paper.

Open Source Monday: How to Spot Malware in Your NFT

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Like the internet and GPS that we use every day, VIA’s data privacy and security platform was first tested at scale by the U.S. Department of Defense.

A major U.S. intelligence agency has been actively testing the ability of VIA’s blockchain platform to detect potential cyber threats to data sources. 

We can’t disclose much that we did in detail. Actually, we can’t disclose anything in detail. After six months and well over 350 tests, there is one insight, however, that we feel is important to share publicly:

It’s ridiculously easy to inject malware into a file that can then be downloaded as an NFT!

As NFTs have exploded in popularity (23% of millennials in the U.S. collect them), adding malware to an NFT is an easy and fast way for malicious users to spread chaos.

So, today, VIA is making a malware check for NFTs code available for free, for anyone: https://github.com/viascience/nftscan. Special thanks to the steganography open source community for their help to create this NFT vulnerability scanner.

This initial version on GitHub has three separate malware checks. There are instructions on how to submit a pull request for you to add your own additional malware checks. If you’re interested in using the code on your website, write to us at info@solvewithvia.com. 

Want to learn more about how hidden text and malware code can be easily transferred when not checked? Watch this 43 second video.

If you’re interested in making the NFT community safer, please share this blog with your networks!

Stay safe out there everyone!