Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP).

A cryptographic protocol in which a prover convinces a verifier that a statement is true without revealing anything beyond the validity of the statement itself. It belongs to the Cryptography category of cybersecurity.

A cryptographic protocol in which a prover convinces a verifier that a statement is true without revealing anything beyond the validity of the statement itself.

A Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic protocol that lets a prover demonstrate possession of a secret or the truth of a statement to a verifier while leaking no additional information. Formal ZKPs satisfy three properties: completeness (an honest prover can convince an honest verifier), soundness (a cheating prover cannot succeed except with negligible probability), and zero-knowledge (the verifier learns nothing beyond the statement). ZKPs underpin privacy-preserving authentication, anonymous credentials, blockchain scaling (rollups), and confidential transactions. Modern non-interactive variants such as zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs let succinct proofs be verified in milliseconds and have moved from academic curiosity to mainstream production over the last decade.

Defences for Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) typically combine technical controls and operational practices, as detailed in the full definition above.

Common alternative names include: ZKP, Zero-knowledge protocol.