Prove identity without revealing data. H33 generates ZK-STARK proofs in 2.0 microseconds and verifies them in 0.2 microseconds — no trusted setup, SHA3-256 post-quantum secure, integrated with FHE biometrics and Dilithium signatures.
Traditional authentication sends credentials to a server for comparison. ZK authentication proves credential validity without transmitting the credentials themselves.
The user’s device generates a ZK-STARK proof that it possesses valid credentials matching the enrolled template. The proof is a compact cryptographic object — it proves knowledge of the secret without containing the secret. Generated in 2.0µs on commodity hardware.
H33’s server receives only the proof — never the credentials. It verifies the proof in 0.2µs using SHA3-256 hash commitments. If the proof is valid, the user is authenticated. The server learns nothing about the underlying data except that it is valid.
For biometric authentication, H33 combines ZK proofs with FHE. The biometric template is matched entirely in encrypted space (BFV lattice FHE), and the ZK proof attests to the match result. The server never sees the biometric — it only verifies the cryptographic proof of match.
After ZK verification, H33 signs the attestation with ML-DSA (Dilithium) — a NIST FIPS 204 post-quantum digital signature. The attestation is unforgeable even by quantum computers. It chains ZK proof + FHE result + Dilithium signature into a single verifiable token.
Both are zero-knowledge proof systems. The security properties differ significantly.
| Property | SNARKs | H33 STARKs |
|---|---|---|
| Trusted Setup | Required — ceremony compromise breaks all proofs | Not required — transparent, hash-derived parameters |
| Post-Quantum Security | No — relies on elliptic curve pairings | Yes — SHA3-256 hash-based, lattice-hard |
| Proof Size | ~200 bytes (smaller) | ~4 KB (larger, but PQ-secure) |
| Verification Speed | ~1–3ms (pairing operations) | 0.2µs (hash-only verification) |
| Proving Speed | 10–100ms (elliptic curve scalar mul) | 2.0µs (optimized hash pipeline) |
| Quantum Attack Surface | Shor’s algorithm breaks discrete-log assumption | No known quantum speedup for hash preimage |
| Audit Complexity | Requires trusting ceremony participants | Fully auditable — public parameters only |
Four stages, one API call. Every stage is post-quantum secure.
BFV inner product on 32 encrypted templates per ciphertext
Generate proof of valid match from encrypted result
DashMap cached lookup for repeat proofs, hash verify for new
ML-DSA sign + verify for post-quantum attestation token
Prove identity, verify the proof, and receive a post-quantum attestation — all in one API call.
// ZK auth: prove identity without exposing any data const result = await h33.authenticate({ biometric: capturedTemplate, // Encrypted client-side proofType: 'zk-stark', // SHA3-256 based securityLevel: 'h33-128', mode: 'standard' }); // result.verified → true / false // result.zkProof → ZK-STARK proof (SHA3-256) // result.attestation → Dilithium-signed attestation // result.proofTime → 2.0µs (prove) + 0.2µs (verify) // // Server NEVER sees biometric data // Server NEVER sees credential plaintext // Verifier receives only: valid / invalid + PQ attestation // Verify the attestation independently const valid = await h33.verifyAttestation({ attestation: result.attestation, publicKey: h33PublicKey // Dilithium public key }); // valid → true (ML-DSA signature verified)