<div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 23:57 Jens Weber via cryptography <<a href="mailto:cryptography@metzdowd.com">cryptography@metzdowd.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" dir="auto"><u></u>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Hello,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I am currently
developing
the concept for a project called <b style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NOX</b>. It is still at an
early
architectural stage. Before fundamental technical decisions are
made, I would
like to ask people with substantially more experience in
cryptography and
decentralized systems for critical feedback.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I am the initiator
of the
concept, but I am not a cryptographer. For that reason, I am
interested not
only in how such an architecture could be implemented, but first
in a more
fundamental question: <b style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Is what I am envisioning technically
and
cryptographically realistic at all?</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The basic idea
behind NOX
is an international trust, identity and authorization
infrastructure that could
connect independent institutions without creating a central
database containing
everyone's sensitive information.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The underlying
data could
remain where it belongs professionally — for example, with
hospitals, public
authorities, universities or other responsible institutions. NOX
would operate
in the background to verify identities and institutional
identities, enforce
authorization, provide cryptographic provenance, and maintain
tamper-evident
and auditable histories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">One fundamental
requirement of the concept is:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">There must be no
universal master key.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Neither the
operator, a
government, an administrator, an investor, nor even the founder
of NOX should
possess a key capable of bypassing the security and
authorization structure of
the entire system.</span></p></div></blockquote><div dir="auto">…</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" dir="auto"><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The sensitive
records
themselves should not simply be placed on a public blockchain.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NOX may also
contain a <b style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">completely
separate economic layer</b>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">….</span><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Money or token
ownership
must never buy data rights.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Ownership of NOX
tokens
must not grant access to personal data, medical records,
personnel records,
identities, institutional credentials, permissions, or
privileged functions of
the protected</span></p></div></blockquote><div dir="auto"><br>…</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" dir="auto"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p></div></blockquote><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" dir="auto"><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Another part of
the
concept is artificial intelligence. AI could operate in the
background to
identify contradictions, unusual events, possible manipulation,
suspicious
access patterns </span></p></div></blockquote><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">A quick read of your outline … it all depends on contract law not technology.</div><div dir="auto">With multiple international borders any nation could change law and mess with the system parts that depend on law.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">AI (even SI ) is not magic and must see essentially the entire system to train the AI.</div><div dir="auto">There is no data on day one to train the AI. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">My first thought is to assume a magical set of cryptographic tools and map all the parts and link each with an annotation MCxx (magical cryptography exchange xx). Thus map all data flow or links. Emergency digital medical information as outlined seems impossible. Each link has a key that must be durable, https is not durable. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Then look at the structure and identify attack targets and vectors. </div><div dir="auto">Since it must be financially self supporting, there are payments even tax liability requiring audit visibility.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><b style="font-size:inherit;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0);border-color:rgb(0,0,0);color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:"times new roman",serif;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0);border-color:rgb(0,0,0);color:rgb(0,0,0)">“Money or token ownership must never buy data rights.”</span></b></div><div dir="auto"><b style="font-size:inherit;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0);border-color:rgb(0,0,0);color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:"times new roman",serif;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0);border-color:rgb(0,0,0);color:rgb(0,0,0)">How to have money in a system that has no applicability to what money was invented for?</span></b></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" dir="auto"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal" dir="auto"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p></div>
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