Vitalik: Diamond iO enables programs to run while hiding internal logic and key data

Odaily Odaily reported that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a new article introducing Diamond iO, a novel cryptographic obfuscation technique. This technology aims to solve the extremely low efficiency problem of traditional indistinguishability obfuscation (iO) schemes, allowing programs to run while hiding their internal logic and key data. Traditional iO technology offers privacy protection capabilities but has high operational costs. Diamond iO, by adopting more aggressive novel cryptographic assumptions, improves computational efficiency from "universe-level time consumption" to "planetary-level time consumption," moving closer to practical application. Diamond iO is built on technologies like Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). By encrypting a program, it allows users to execute the encrypted program and obtain correct outputs without being able to view its internal code or hidden keys. This scheme introduces a new input encoding mechanism and conditional decryption method, reducing computational complexity while ensuring program logic is hidden. Its core application scenarios include protecting programs containing private keys, enabling secure software licensing, building trustless cryptographic services, and supporting blockchain and AI systems with stronger privacy protection.

Diamond iO is still in its early research stages, and its security relies on novel cryptographic assumptions including All-Product LWE and Evasive LWE, requiring further research for validation. At the same time, the technology still faces efficiency challenges such as high computational overhead and circuit depth limitations. Researchers believe that by optimizing underlying hash functions, improving homomorphic encryption schemes, and reducing security parameter requirements, Diamond iO could become an important direction for advancing practical program obfuscation technology in the future.