The xxDK update includes a novel solution to private message delivery.
We are finally ready to update the network to work with real clients. We know this has been a long time coming and we are pleased with what we are delivering. As of now, we have successfully tested the client against an internal testnet and it has met our reliability and privacy requirements. Furthermore, we have addressed all known privacy and security issues with the cMix protocol with this update. We look forward to conducting public audits and believe the software is now in a state where we can begin the process of driving public confidence in both the protocol and its implementation.
This update solves a novel problem in the space of decentralized communication: private message delivery. An often overlooked portion of privacy systems is message pickup and notification. In almost all cases, this process is either overly cumbersome on the recipient or significantly reduces the privacy of the system. This release centers around a novel solution to the problem of message delivery which allows for rapid packet pickup by any device, including a low powered smartphone, with an increase in privacy.
The solution is built upon a few components:
- Asynchronous daily rotating ephemeral reception IDs in an overly dense address space.
- A minimal gossip (privacy protected by the ephemeral reception IDs) disseminating message pickup information across the network
- A probabilistic notification of message availability available for all ephemeral IDs on all gateways
- Robust tracking of message state in the client (xxDK)
Along with the update, we will be releasing our testing suite to allow anyone to run it against the live BetaNet.
We will be releasing more information on these solutions and their implementation in the coming weeks.
To learn more, please visit the BetaNet Forum where details for nodes and the complete changelog is available!
