Zero-Knowledge Proofs - Indirect proofs to prove you known a secret

• A zero-knowledge-proof is a method used in cryptography to prove that something is known without revealing the known information directly.
• Are indirect proofs allowing you to prove you know a secret without ever revealing the secret to anyone else.
• You prove only that you're telling the truth.
• It essentially allows private information to be kept in an exchange.
• Zero knowledge proofs are a type of cryptography that keeps the details of a hidden transaction

Concept: provers and verifiers

In zero-knowledge proofs, the basic roles are the prover and verifier.

• The prover must prove they know the secret.
• The verifier must be able to verify the prover is telling the truth.
• It works because the verifier asks the prover to do things that can only be done if the prover definitely knows the secret.
• If the prover is guessing, he or she will eventually be proven wrong by the verifier’s tests.
• If the secret is known, then the prover will pass the verifiers test every time without a problem.
• It's like when a bank or institution asks you for letters of a known secret word to verify your identity. Y
• ou're not telling the bank what's in your bank account, you're merely telling them that you know the sequence of a given word.