Philosophy

Nowadays, a vast amount of data is generated, transmitted, and stored for users. This data predominantly passes through servers that have access to it. The classic model trusts the servers that manage the data.

With these systems designed to collect and aggregate data, even seemingly insignificant information must be protected if we want to preserve individuals' privacy. Thus, ZKFS offers a no-compromise solution, in which all data is encrypted using a key that only the user possesses.

These pieces of information, when exploited massively, give a lot of power to third parties. Whether they are service providers, advertisers, third parties, or even close acquaintances.

All information must be technically inaccessible to all parties except the owning user. It should only be shared with third parties when necessary and with the explicit consent of the owner.

In general, the industry has strived to integrate protective measures into products that were initially devoid of them. ZKFS was imagined, designed, and realized around the principle of absolute data security, making it a more robust solution.

Technology

For data storage and transmission, the most commonly used scheme in the industry today is a client-server model where the server has total control over the information. For example, companies like Google, Microsoft, or Dropbox have access to your data.

Recently, the industry has started using so-called "end-to-end" or E2E encryption. But in many cases, this only concerns certain data fragments, rarely metadata, and is often complicated to use.

Our approach is different. The entirety of our system and technologies have been designed from scratch to avoid transmitting information to servers. In other words, our system cannot be used in a way that is not secure and private.

Platform

The central part of our system is the platform. This platform is concretely composed of a network of servers, acting together like a large hard drive.

This platform is entirely hosted in Switzerland and does not use any third-party cloud providers. The servers used are assembled by us according to our specifications, to ensure maximum compatibility with our software layer and to ensure complete control over all elements.

The main element of this platform is the ZKFS file system, which stands for "Zero Knowledge File System".

SDK

The second part of our system is our SDK or Software Development Kit. Our SDK allows for simple and quick integration of our platform into any IT project. Software developers and integrators can easily use ZKFS instead of traditional storage.

To allow for a complete audit of the SDK and to facilitate its use, it is entirely Open Source.

Its great portability allows it to run on all platforms, whether it be a microcontroller or in a web app in WASM. It integrates all cryptographic functions and network communication.

Applications

The ZKFS storage system and its cross-platform integration SDK are intended for many usage. This is not limited to specific types of applications. On the contrary, it can be mobilized whenever data needs to be protected, which is very often.

However, we have developed two applications based on our technology in order to test the system and present its operation in a more understandable way.

• Vaccination Record
• Object Tagging and Tracking

We also have advanced concepts for the following uses.

Secure Document Storage

Similar to an application like Dropbox or Google Drive, with the ability to import paper documents via photo. To access their documents, the user simply needs to scan the QR code of their safe.

Anti-counterfeiting for Medicines

The manufacturer generates a QR code for each box of medicine and prints it on the packaging foil. Each box of medicine is a mini blockchain where information can only be added and is immutable. Each phase of the medicine's cycle can only happen once (manufacturing, sale, consumption).