Lesson plan
Verifiable random function
In cryptography, a verifiable random function (VRF) is a public-key pseudorandom function that provides proofs that its outputs were calculated correctly. The owner of the secret key can compute the function value as well as an associated proof for any input value. Everyone else, using the proof and the associated public key (or verification key ), can check that this value was indeed calculated correctly, yet this information cannot be used to find the secret key. A verifiable random function can be viewed as a public-key analogue of a keyed cryptographic hash and as a cryptographic commitment to an exponentially large number of seemingly random bits. The concept of a verifiable random function is closely related to that of a verifiable unpredictable function (VUF), whose outputs are hard to predict but do not necessarily seem random. The concept of a VRF was introduced by Micali, Rabin, and Vadhan in 1999. Since then, verifiable random functions have found widespread use in cryptocurrencies, as well as in proposals for protocol design and cybersecurity.
Article summary
In cryptography, a verifiable random function (VRF) is a public-key pseudorandom function that provides proofs that its outputs were calculated correctly. The owner of the secret key can compute the function value as well as an associated proof for any input value. Everyone else, using the proof and the associated public key (or verification key ), can check that this value was indeed calculated correctly, yet this information cannot be used to find the secret key. A verifiable random function can be viewed as a public-key analogue of a keyed cryptographic hash and as a cryptographic commitment to an exponentially large number of seemingly random bits. The concept of a verifiable random function is closely related to that of a verifiable unpredictable function (VUF), whose outputs are hard to predict but do not necessarily seem random. The concept of a VRF was introduced by Micali, Rabin, and Vadhan in 1999. Since then, verifiable random functions have found widespread use in cryptocurrencies, as well as in proposals for protocol design and cybersecurity.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.