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Privacy

Privacy refers to the ability to keep transactions private between the involved participants. Other participants can't access the transaction content.

Private transaction manager​

GoQuorum uses Tessera as the private transaction manager to implement private transactions.

Tessera:

  • Stores and allows access to encrypted transaction data.
  • Exchanges encrypted payloads with other Tessera nodes.
  • Doesn't have access to any private keys.
  • Uses an enclave for cryptographic functionality. The private transaction manager itself can optionally host an enclave.
  • Is restful/stateless and can be load balanced.

Configure a connection to the private transaction manager to enable private transactions.

Enclave​

The enclave provides cryptographic functionality to the private transaction manager by managing the encryption and decryption in isolation. The enclave holds private keys and is essentially a virtual HSM isolated from other components.

The separation of duties between the private transaction manager and enclave provide performance improvements and strengthens privacy.

Public and private state​

GoQuorum supports two states:

  • Public state, which is accessible by all nodes within the network
  • Private state, which is only accessible by nodes with the correct permissions

Public state transactions have non-encrypted payloads, while private state transactions have encrypted payloads.

Nodes can only execute private transactions if they can access and decrypt the payload. All nodes share a common public state created through public transactions and have a local unique private state.

Privacy enhancements and private state validation​

When privacy enhancements are enabled and private state validation (PSV) transactions are used, the GoQuorum node automatically verifies a contract's state across participating nodes.

Privacy marker transactions​

Privacy marker transactions (PMTs) creates public PMTs and internal private transactions, and is an alternative to normal private transactions. A PMT allows for the corresponding internal private transaction to be kept off chain, with its contents and receipt hidden from public view.

Contract state extension​

Contract state extension allows you to extend access to a private contract beyond its initial set of participants.