International Journal of Computer Science and Technology

International Journal of Computer Science and Technology | Vol. 2, No. 5, May 2021 | pp. 33–40

Research Article

Title: A Decentralized Identity Management Framework Using Smart Contracts and Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Names of Authors: Amir Hassan¹, Laila Mansour², and Tarek Fadel³

Authors’ Affiliations:
¹Department of Computer Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
²Department of Information Technology, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
³Department of Computer Science, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract: Traditional centralized identity management systems pose significant risks, including single points of data breach, corporate data harvesting, and a lack of user control over personal information. Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) frameworks address these issues by empowering individuals to manage their digital credentials independently. However, deploying SSI on public blockchains introduces tracking issues and data leakage vectors due to the transparent nature of distributed ledgers. This study proposes a decentralized, privacy-preserving identity management framework that integrates permissioned smart contracts with zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), specifically utilizing zk-SNARKs. The proposed architecture separates identity verification from credential disclosure, allowing users to generate cryptographic proofs verifying attributes (such as age thresholds or financial capacities) without exposing their underlying personally identifiable information (PII). Smart contracts act as a root of trust, validating these cryptographic proofs and verifying issuer public keys on-chain while storing zero raw user data. Prototyping evaluations conducted on a Hyperledger Fabric network demonstrate that proof generation takes 1.2 seconds on standard smartphones, and verification executes in less than 45 ms on the ledger. The framework successfully mitigates identity fraud, guarantees complete user anonymity, and complies fully with data privacy mandates, making it viable for secure e-governance and decentralized finance applications.

Keywords: Self-sovereign identity, Blockchain, Smart contracts, Zero-knowledge proofs, Privacy preservation, Identity management

Manuscript Timeline: Received: February 18, 2021; Revised: March 24, 2021; Accepted: April 22, 2021; Published: May 1, 2021

Citation: Hassan, A., Mansour, L., & Fadel, T. (2021). A decentralized identity management framework using smart contracts and zero-knowledge proofs. International Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 2(5), 33–40. DOI: 10.46882/2021/IJCST/000017

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