Overview
ISO/IEC 27565:2026 provides comprehensive guidelines on privacy preservation using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) in information security, cybersecurity, and privacy protection contexts. This international standard is developed by ISO and IEC, aiming to reduce the risks of unnecessary personal data disclosure during interactions between organizations and users. The document explains how ZKPs, as a privacy-enhancing technology, enable the validation of claims or statements without revealing underlying personal or sensitive information. It details functional and privacy requirements for ZKPs, and guides practitioners on their effective and secure use across different business scenarios.
Key Topics
- Zero-Knowledge Proof Fundamentals: Definition and properties of ZKPs, including completeness, soundness, and zero-knowledge.
- Interactive and Non-Interactive ZKPs: Distinction between protocols requiring multiple message exchanges (interactive) and those that operate with a single message (non-interactive).
- ZKP System Components: Roles of the setup, prover, and verifier modules in a ZKP system.
- Functional and Privacy Requirements: Criteria for deploying ZKPs, including data minimization, selective disclosure, unlinkability, and the roles of attribute providers and verifiers.
- Implementation Considerations: Includes methods for replay protection, prevention of collusion, use of trusted authorities, and performance factors.
- Business Use Cases: Practical examples such as age verification, fraud prevention, auctions, disability proof, use in distributed ledger technologies (DLT), and central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
Applications
ISO/IEC 27565:2026 is applicable in a wide range of use cases that require privacy-preserving validation of information:
- Identity and Credential Verification: Enables organizations to confirm the validity of a user’s claim (e.g., age, eligibility, or credentials) without accessing the actual data.
- Compliance with Data Privacy Regulations: Supports adherence to global privacy laws by minimizing unnecessary data exposure in business processes.
- Secure Transactions and Digital Services: Useful for sectors like finance, government, and healthcare, where proving certain attributes without full disclosure mitigates risks and ensures confidentiality.
- Distributed Ledger and Blockchain: Enhances privacy in DLT and blockchain transactions by enabling secure, verifiable claims without exposing transaction details or participant identities.
- Digital Credential Management: Streamlines digital wallet and credential management while upholding privacy and security best practices.
Related Standards
Leverage these related international standards for comprehensive privacy and security frameworks:
- ISO/IEC 29100: Privacy framework outlining key privacy principles.
- ISO/IEC 24760-1: Identity management and attributes definitions.
- ISO/IEC 10118 series: Cryptographic hash function standards, essential for ZKP implementation.
- ISO/IEC 4922 series: Secure multi-party computation (MPC), relevant for collaborative and privacy-preserving setups.
- ISO/IEC 20889: Privacy-enhancing data de-identification techniques.
- ISO/IEC TR 27550: Additional terminology and privacy guidelines.
- ISO/IEC 9798-5: Entity authentication mechanisms, intersecting with ZKP technologies.
Practical Value
By following ISO/IEC 27565:2026, organizations benefit from:
- Reduced Data Exposure: Achieve privacy by design, only revealing what is strictly necessary for verification.
- Enhanced Security and Trust: Mitigate privacy and security risks for both organizations and individuals during data exchanges.
- Regulatory Alignment: Improve compliance with privacy regulations and standards without compromising on service functionality.
- Future-Proofing Digital Interactions: Address current and emerging challenges in digital identity, authentication, and secure online services.
In summary, ISO/IEC 27565:2026 is an essential resource for organizations seeking practical guidelines to leverage zero-knowledge proofs for privacy protection, secure digital interactions, and regulatory compliance.