Open Access

ARTICLE

A Conditionally Anonymous Linkable Ring Signature for Blockchain Privacy Protection

by Quan Zhou^1,*, Yulong Zheng¹, Minhui Chen², Kaijun Wei²

1 School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
2 School of Computer Science and Cyber Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

* Corresponding Author: Quan Zhou. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and 6G Convergence)

Computer Systems Science and Engineering 2023, 47(3), 2851-2867. https://doi.org/10.32604/csse.2023.039908

Received 24 February 2023; Accepted 27 April 2023; Issue published 09 November 2023

Abstract

In recent years, the issue of preserving the privacy of parties involved in blockchain transactions has garnered significant attention. To ensure privacy protection for both sides of the transaction, many researchers are using ring signature technology instead of the original signature technology. However, in practice, identifying the signer of an illegal blockchain transaction once it has been placed on the chain necessitates a signature technique that offers conditional anonymity. Some illegals can conduct illegal transactions and evade the law using ring signatures, which offer perfect anonymity. This paper firstly constructs a conditionally anonymous linkable ring signature using the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol and the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm, which offers a non-interactive process for finding the signer of a ring signature in a specific case. Secondly, this paper’s proposed scheme is proven correct and secure under Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Assumptions. Lastly, compared to previous constructions, the scheme presented in this paper provides a non-interactive, efficient, and secure confirmation process. In addition, this paper presents the implementation of the proposed scheme on a personal computer, where the confirmation process takes only 2, 16, and 24 ms for ring sizes of 4, 24 and 48, respectively, and the confirmation process can be combined with a smart contract on the blockchain with a tested millisecond level of running efficiency. In conclusion, the proposed scheme offers a solution to the challenge of identifying the signer of an illegal blockchain transaction, making it an essential contribution to the field.

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Keywords

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