Author: BitPLATES (Chris) 2021-05-11 08:48:44
Published on: 2021-05-11T08:48:44+00:00
The email response from Chris refutes an analysis of the proposed BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) regarding a two-factor authentication system called the 'quantum' passphrase. The writer of the email argues that the proposal is not "rolling your own security" and instead, is a non-destructive adaptation of the BIP39 standard. The 'quantum' passphrase relies on the well-established security of the existing BIP39 standard which has 2048 possible words that can be chosen from its word list. To derive a seed from a string of 24 BIP39 words, there are 2048 to the power of 23 combinations of security, or 10 to the power of 76 combinations. The proposed 'quantum' passphrase offers an exponential increase in the level of protection compared to the original BIP39 mnemonic seed words with approximately 2048^23 possible combinations. This provides sufficient protection for each separate layer of a two-factor Bitcoin wallet should any one layer be accidentally exposed. The writer also notes that this method of creating a passphrase leaves no evidence of its existence on any backup devices, providing plausible deniability in case of coercion. It discourages user-created words or sentences (also known as 'brain-wallets') which often provide a drastically reduced level of passphrase security. A 'quantum' passphrase consists of 24 newly generated BIP39 seed words to produce a '25th-word' BIP39-compatible 'quantum' passphrase. Two-factor authentication (2FA) or (2 of 2 multi-signature) can be implemented with a two-wallet setup where the 1st Bitcoin wallet is protected by the seed words of the 2nd Bitcoin wallet, and inversely, the 2nd Bitcoin wallet is protected by the seed words of the 1st Bitcoin wallet. The proposed method of passphrase generation consists of two parts: generating the BIP39 mnemonic seed words using a BIP39-compatible hardware wallet, and converting these seed words into the 'quantum' passphrase following four simple rules that do not destroy the integrity of the initial data.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T21:49:08.196527+00:00