Privacy Pass - “The Math”
Nov 9, 2017Alex Davidson
Summary
This post introduces and details the 'Privacy Pass' protocol, a novel cryptographic approach developed to improve website accessibility for users interacting with Cloudflare's network. It explains the mathematical underpinnings of the protocol, moving from blind RSA to more efficient elliptic curve cryptography and Oblivious PRFs. Privacy Pass allows users to obtain cryptographically blinded tokens after solving a challenge (like a CAPTCHA), which can then be used to bypass future challenges without revealing the user's identity to the server, thus enhancing privacy and reducing friction.
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