Enhancing Privacy, Security and Data Protection for Web2 and Web3 Users with ZK-Rollups

Zk-Rollups for Web2 and Web3

The concept of data monetization under Web2 means that the users are effectively the product. Case in point is the recent USD 275 million fine imposed on Meta in November 2022 for breaching the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The use of Zero-Knowledge rollups (ZK-rollups) can help boost compliance with the GDPR by boosting data protection and privacy security. As for Web3, this role of Zero-Knowledge rollups (ZK-rollups) is set to bring to life the ideals of user autonomy.

With this, let’s explore more about the privacy data protection and privacy security use cases of ZK-rollups for Web2 and Web3:-

• Boosting Data Protection for Web2 Users

Given the centralized frameworks of Web2 networks which necessitate the role of intermediaries as data controllers, the use of ZK-rollups can facilitate the realisation of the principle of minimal data.

The principle posits that a data controller should limit the collection of personal information to what is directly relevant and necessary to accomplish a specified purpose. The use of ZK-rollups can help bring down the threshold of data disclosed on a need-to-know basis in line with the principle of data minimization.

Illustration of How ZK Works (Source:Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA))

• Boosting Privacy Security for Web3 Users

Although cryptocurrency transactions were meant to be private and peer-to-peer (P2P) in nature, most cryptocurrency transactions lack privacy as the details are recorded on public blockchains. Although the digital identities of crypto users are pseudonymous in nature, it is possible to trace these identities to real world identities through the combined use of on and off-chain data analysis. The use of ZK-rollups can help boost the user privacy levels of blockchain networks by facilitating the validation of transactions without requiring access to transaction data, thereby dispensing with the need for public blockchain records.

Top Privacy Coins (Source: CoinGeek)

• Boosting Data Protection and Privacy Security for Web2 and Web3 Users

A common element of both Web2 and Web3 platforms is the use of passwords or passphrases in Web3. The deployment of ZK-rollups in the form of Zero-Knowledge password proof (ZKPP) allows users to prove that they know the value of their password or passphrases, without having to reveal anything other than this fact to the verifier. This effectively mitigates the risks of password hacking by allowing the verification of passwords to be completed in one-go.

How ZKPP Works (Source: MIRACL Trust)

The need for the user’s privacy, security and data protection pervades the platforms operating across the spectrum of Web2 and Web3. With its novelty of facilitating verification through minimal disclosure, ZK-rollups have a central role to play in addressing the user privacy pain points of Web2 and bringing to life the user autonomy of Web3.