Juicebox Protocol: Distributed Storage and Recovery of Secrets Using Simple PIN Authentication

Nora Trapp; Diego Ongaro

Paper 2025/348

Juicebox Protocol: Distributed Storage and Recovery of Secrets Using Simple PIN Authentication

Nora Trapp

, Juicebox Systems, Inc.

Diego Ongaro, Juicebox Systems, Inc.

Abstract

Existing secret management techniques demand users memorize complex passwords, store convoluted recovery phrases, or place their trust in a specific service or hardware provider. We have designed a novel protocol that combines existing cryptographic techniques to eliminate these complications and reduce user complexity to recalling a short PIN. Our protocol specifically focuses on a distributed approach to secret storage that leverages Oblivious Pseudorandom Functions (OPRFs) and a Secret-Sharing Scheme (SSS) combined with self-destructing secrets to minimize the trust placed in any singular server. Additionally, our approach allows for servers distributed across organizations, eliminating the need to trust a singular service operator. We have built an open-source implementation of the client and server sides of this new protocol, the latter of which has variants for running on commodity hardware and secure hardware.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Cryptographic protocols
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: Juicebox Protocol Distributed Storage Key Recovery Distributed Trust
Contact author(s): nora @ trappdesign net
History: 2025-02-25: approved; 2025-02-25: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2025/348
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2025/348,
      author = {Nora Trapp and Diego Ongaro},
      title = {Juicebox Protocol: Distributed Storage and Recovery of Secrets Using Simple {PIN} Authentication},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2025/348},
      year = {2025},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/348}
}