VEIL: HOW THE ADAPTABILITY OF A PROJECT AND ITS TEAM(VEIL LABS) ENS...

One of the core features of any innovative technology with a vision and established purpose is its adaptability and responsiveness, especially in the world of blockchain technology where innovative solutions are being developed daily. Veil as a project has been developed based on two fundamental technologies for privacy and anonymity at the blockchain level (RingCT technology of Monero and the Zerocoin protocol) respectively, with the Dandelion protocol enabling anonymity at the network layer through Internet Protocol (IP) address obfuscation. This has earned Veil its superior transactional privacy and anonymity (always on privacy).

However, one of the core technologies at the blockchain level, Zerocoin protocol which basically employs zero-knowledge proofs, was discovered to have a vulnerability which was exploited in various cryptocurrencies like Pivx and ZCoin. Zero-knowledge proofs (as the name implies) involves proofs of the occurrence of a transaction between parties without knowledge of the details of the transaction.

THE VULNERABILITY AND VEIL’S PROMPT RESPONSE

The vulnerability known as the Libzerocoin exploit involves the exploiting of a vulnerability in Liberzerocoin which is the base of the Zerocoin protocol. It is important to note that although all cryptocurrencies employing the Zerocoin protocol were vulnerable to the exploit/attack, Veil was not affected by it as a result of the prompt response of the team and the constant monitoring of the network to thwart possible attacks while a fix for the vulnerability was being developed.

The ability of a project to react/respond promptly in the event of unforeseen eventualities is one of the trademarks of a project dedicated to its goal. Veil Labs, upon notification of this vulnerability which was being used to exploit coins employing the Zerocoin protocol, promptly developed a temporary fix which was immediately effected in a wallet update and made available for download to members of the community in record time with them being notified of a vulnerability.

Considering the fact that in the world of technology, especially a constantly evolving one like the blockchain, more sophisticated security probes are bound to occur. The defining factor in the sustained success of a cryptocurrency, especially a privacy-focused one, is the commitment of the project to research, development, and the promptness of response to security concerns. The promptness of Veil (Veil Labs) in responding to the Libzerocoin exploit and its development of counter-measures speaks volumes of the commitment of Veil to providing the global society with secure, private, and anonymous transactions.

CONCLUSION; THE WAY FORWARD
As a result of the update, the staking of Veil for minting purposes which was done exclucively using Zerocoin has been modified to provide pseudo-anonymous minting using RingCT without the option of anonymity being provided by Zerocoin.

Veil, in a bid to ensuring that it offers a superior alternative in the world of privacy coins, both in terms of security,privacy, and anonymity, has opted to provide continued privacy and anonymity at the blockchain level using RingCT, making the network invulnerable to potential exploits (both the Liberzerocoin exploit and others that may be discovered subsequently) associated with the Zerocoin protocol pending when a new protocol which is in tandem with the network’s vision of ensured privacy, anonymity, and security is either developed or integrated with the network.

As a project, Veil continues to seek and develop better solutions in order to provide maximum anonymity and privacy for transactions on the blockchain, as much as is technologically possible. As a result of the Libzerocoin exploit, Veil has proffered temporary solutions to ensuring transactional anonymity with ongoing research on how to either develop a new protocol or integrate an existing one with the network. This is so as to continue to offer better privacy and anonymity of transactions to users, the commitment and dedication of the team to the progress and success of the Veil project cannot be over-emphasized.

More details on the official update by the project regarding developments as a result of the vulnerability can be found using this link.