Nym global privacy infrastructure is backed by the European Commission, and joins the EU Next…

Neuchatel, Switzerland — 6th July 2021 — Nym, the next generation of privacy infrastructure, has joined the European Next Generation Internet (NGI) internet initiative advancing a “human centric internet”, with a focus on privacy and trust. Nym has been awarded two NGI grants: the Pointer grant in order to optimise and standardise Sphinx packet encryption used in the Nym mixnet, and the Ledger grant, to develop Nym Coconut credentials for broad uptake and use. This builds on significant achievements in earlier European Commission funded projects: the Loopix mixnet technology, which leverages Sphinx packet format, developed during the Panoramix project and Coconut credentials as developed during DECODE.

The focus on privacy and a human-centric internet makes the NGI a natural home for Nym. The aim of Nym is to establish privacy as a default at the infrastructure level, advancing the digital security and safety of everyone. With privacy as a default, sharing data becomes a proactive choice to opt in to the use of one’s data for specific and deserving purposes, rather attempting to opt out of invasive, manipulative and exploitative data practices after the fact. Nym can therefore contribute a fundamental building block for the European vision of a human centric internet: strengthening existing European internet privacy regulations like the GDPR from the bottom up, and extending a Right to Digital Integrity for every human being online.

The Pointer grant enables Nym to direct resources towards optimising the Sphinx encrypted internet packet format. Sphinx encryption provides important privacy features, namely bitwise unlinkability between packets, integrity as well as protection of routing information. But Sphinx can be computationally expensive as it requires new key generation for each layer of encryption. With the support of the EC, Nym will be able to research important ways to reduce the computational load and to standardize Sphinx, updating some of the core encryption standards available for internet architects.

The Ledger grant enables Nym to develop an SDK for the Coconut credentials protocol, and conduct user research. Coconut credentials employ zero-knowledge proofs, allowing people to prove their right to access digital services without compromising on privacy. The aim is to develop a working prototype for a privacy enhanced COVID vaccine passport using Coconut credentials, proving that public health can be prioritised without having to compromise on privacy. The user and market research will allow Nym to discover the most suitable B2B markets for early adoption.

Nym is an open-source, decentralised, permissionless and incentivised system that provides full-stack privacy, allowing developers to build applications that provide users with strong guarantees against metadata surveillance, at both the level of network traffic, and the level of authentication, access and payments. Nym’s team comprises leading research scientists and developers, helming from world-class universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology, KU Leuven and University College London.

Follow the work at Nym on Telegram or Twitter @nymproject.