Post-quantum anonymous authentication for Web3: a lattice-based decentralized linkable anonymous credential scheme
摘要
Web3, the next-generation decentralized Internet aimed at providing secure and user-centric network services, has attracted significant attention. Anonymous credentials, a privacy-preserving authentication technique, allow users to prove possession of specific qualifications or attributes without disclosing additional identity information. Although lattice-based anonymous credentials have been proposed to counter quantum computing threats, their reliance on trusted issuers introduces risks of single points of failure and limits their compatibility with Web3. To address these challenges, we propose a lattice-based anonymous credential scheme with threshold credential issuance. In our solution, a valid credential proof can be generated only if the user obtains partial credentials from at least t out of N authorities, thereby showing possession of the user attributes required for service access. To mitigate the risk of credential abuse and prevent financial losses for service providers, we enhance the proposed anonymous credential system by introducing linkability. All credential proofs generated by the same user for the same event are linked, and their anonymity can be forcibly revoked to trace the user’s identity. The proposed scheme achieves anonymity, unforgeability, and linkability, constituting a post-quantum solution for privacy-preserving authentication in Web3. Concrete parameters are also provided to instantiate our scheme with 128-bit security.