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Witness co-signed key-log heads #23

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opened 2026-09-01 23:27:15 +00:00 by paulhitt · 2 comments
paulhitt commented 2026-09-01 23:27:15 +00:00 (Migrated from gitlab.com)
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The key log has a single signer, so a hostile relay could fork it — show one head to you and a different one to your contact. Detection today rests on clients gossiping heads (kt_head, §19.4), which is best-effort.

Two or three independent witnesses co-signing each head (Certificate Transparency's SCTs, or Sigsum) turns a fork from detectable into requiring collusion.

Trade: somebody has to run witnesses, and clients need a policy for a head with too few signatures. This is the answer to "would a blockchain help" — same guarantee, no chain, no token, no public identity leak.

⚠️ Idea, not a commitment. Filed 2026-09-01 during the code freeze — design and cost it, do not build it yet.

The key log has a **single signer**, so a hostile relay could fork it — show one head to you and a different one to your contact. Detection today rests on clients gossiping heads (`kt_head`, §19.4), which is best-effort. Two or three independent witnesses co-signing each head (Certificate Transparency's SCTs, or Sigsum) turns a fork from *detectable* into *requiring collusion*. **Trade:** somebody has to run witnesses, and clients need a policy for a head with too few signatures. This is the answer to "would a blockchain help" — same guarantee, no chain, no token, no public identity leak. --- ⚠️ Idea, not a commitment. Filed 2026-09-01 during the code freeze — design and cost it, do not build it yet.
paulhitt commented 2026-09-02 18:35:59 +00:00 (Migrated from gitlab.com)
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mentioned in merge request !27

mentioned in merge request !27
paulhitt commented 2026-09-04 21:26:44 +00:00 (Migrated from gitlab.com)
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Built and merged; deployed to production 2026-09-04 through the staging gate.

Built and merged; deployed to production 2026-09-04 through the staging gate.
paulhitt (Migrated from gitlab.com) closed this issue 2026-09-04 21:26:44 +00:00
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Reference: extant2000/flamenet-relay#23