Imagine never having to remember a password again. To some this might sound crazy, but by combining time-tested cryptography and new technological advancements, this far-fetched proposition is possible. Multi-party computation (MPC) protocols allow users to eliminate the need to remember passwords and potentially much more while simultaneously enhancing data security.
MPC works by distributing parts of an encrypted password or cryptographic keys across multiple parties. These parts are known as shares. The use of shares eliminates the need to remember a password, as long as the shares are installed on users’ device, as the main line of defense against bad actors attempting to steal your sensitive information. Each share can be controlled by a person, organization, or computer bot. In order to maximize security, shares are never decrypted. Users are able to give approvals while keys are in their encrypted state. Companies can gain comfort knowing that in order to access their sensitive data, bad actors must find and decrypt all the companies’ shares. It’s also important to note that the shares refresh, meaning that bad actors not only have to find all the shares but they must decrypt them before the refresh interval is up, usually about one hour.
MPC protocols are easy to use and flexible allowing for almost anyone, regardless of technical ability, to interact with them. As businesses grow and expand into new areas, they will need to have a security infrastructure that can keep up with rapidly growing technology expectations. MPC scales with any business and eliminates a significant amount of friction involved in the current data security practices. New technologies always sound complicated when they are first described. RSM works with companies like Unbound Technology to help clients understand and deploy the most secure data storage technologies. Sam Auch and Bennett Moore of RSM’s National Blockchain and Digital Assets Team, in collaboration with Unbound, has put together an in depth guide to MPC which can be found here and linked in the Talks & White Papers page.
