Layer-1 protocol Near has hired blockchain security firm Nym to provide end-to-end encryption and metadata privacy services for its ecosystem.
Nym provides blockchain-agnostic Layer 0 privacy infrastructure and will leverage its mixnet tools to encrypt and hide blockchain traffic and communications in the near-protocol ecosystem.
Blocking off-chain metadata traffic will protect transaction data during communications and create a barrier for malicious actors seeking to de-anonymize users by accessing IP addresses.
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The announcement of the partnership stated that Near users will be able to access the ecosystem’s decentralized applications (DApps), decentralized finance protocols, and non-fungible tokens with added security and privacy.
Nym’s integration aims to provide more privacy to the Near ecosystem, as permissionless blockchains often allow savvy users to access transaction data and some off-chain information, including IP addresses and geolocation data.
This provides a vector for unwanted surveillance, targeted attacks and cybercrime. A statement from Nym CEO Harry Halpin highlighted the importance of privacy tools in improving the emerging Web3 space:
“Blockchain technology is a major revolution in the field of digital communications, but in essence, blockchain is not private. This is an open secret. Only by integrating privacy into the structure of Web3 can its success be ensured.”
Nym’s mixnet protects blockchain traffic from detailed analysis by splitting data into encrypted packets and sending them to “mix nodes” around the world. “Coverage traffic” is randomly inserted into the mix, thereby providing greater confusion to the communication system and greatly increasing the difficulty of metadata analysis.
Chris Donovan, CEO of Near Foundation, pointed out that Nym’s technology will provide ecosystem participants with greater privacy when using the protocol, and talked about the spirit of privacy-enhancing services:
“Privacy is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of the Web3 vision to create a more secure, user-centered and user-empowered web.”
As Cointelegraph reported in October 2023, Nym Technologies launched a $300 million fund to identify and support Web3 projects building security-focused infrastructure. The fund will initially seek to support wallets and platforms that store private keys that can interact with and manage access to DApps, as well as remote procedure call protocols and open source Web3 tools and services.
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