Glossary

A

AEAD

Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data - Encryption that provides both confidentiality and integrity. KayakNet uses ChaCha20-Poly1305.

Anti-Sybil

Protection mechanisms against Sybil attacks where an attacker creates many fake identities.

B

Bootstrap Node

A well-known node that helps new nodes join the network and discover peers.

BLAKE2b

A fast cryptographic hash function used in KayakNet for various operations.

C

ChaCha20-Poly1305

A modern symmetric encryption algorithm providing both encryption and authentication.

Circuit

A path through multiple nodes used for onion routing. KayakNet uses 3-hop circuits.

D

DHT

Distributed Hash Table - A decentralized key-value store used for peer discovery and data storage. KayakNet uses a Kademlia-based DHT.

DM

Direct Message - A private message between two users.

E

E2E

End-to-End Encryption - Encryption where only the communicating parties can read the messages.

Ed25519

A digital signature algorithm used for identity and message signing.

Escrow

A financial arrangement where a third party holds funds until conditions are met.

F

Forward Secrecy

A property ensuring that past communications cannot be decrypted even if long-term keys are compromised.

G

Gossip Protocol

A communication protocol where nodes share information with random peers, eventually reaching all nodes.

H

HKDF

HMAC-based Key Derivation Function - Used to derive encryption keys from shared secrets.

Hop

One node in an onion routing circuit. KayakNet uses 3 hops by default.

I

Identity Key

The Ed25519 key pair that identifies a node. The public key derives the Node ID.

K

Kademlia

A DHT protocol that provides efficient peer lookup using XOR distance metric.

KNS

KayakNet Naming System - The decentralized domain system for .kyk domains.

KNT

KayakNet Token - The planned native cryptocurrency for KayakNet (not yet implemented).

M

Monero (XMR)

A privacy-focused cryptocurrency supported for marketplace payments.

Mixing

The process of combining messages from multiple sources to obscure their origins.

N

Node

A computer running KayakNet software, participating in the network.

Node ID

A unique identifier derived from the node's public key, used for routing and identification.

O

Onion Routing

A technique for anonymous communication where messages are encrypted in layers, like an onion.

P

Padding

Adding random data to messages to make them uniform size, preventing size-based traffic analysis.

Peer

Another node that your node is directly connected to.

PubSub

Publish-Subscribe - A messaging pattern where messages are published to topics and delivered to subscribers.

PoW

Proof-of-Work - A computational challenge that must be solved to perform certain actions, used for anti-Sybil protection.

R

Ring Signature

A signature that could have been created by any member of a group, providing anonymity. Used in Monero.

S

Shielded Address

A Zcash address that hides sender, receiver, and amount using zero-knowledge proofs.

SOCKS5

A proxy protocol supported by KayakNet for browser connections.

Sybil Attack

An attack where a malicious actor creates many fake identities to gain disproportionate influence.

T

TLS 1.3

Transport Layer Security - The protocol used to encrypt connections between nodes.

Traffic Analysis

Techniques to learn about communications by analyzing metadata like timing, size, and patterns.

W

Wallet

Software or hardware that manages cryptocurrency keys and transactions.

X

X25519

An elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm used for establishing shared secrets.

XMR

The ticker symbol for Monero cryptocurrency.

Z

ZEC

The ticker symbol for Zcash cryptocurrency.

Zero-Knowledge Proof

A cryptographic method to prove knowledge of something without revealing it. Used in Zcash.

.kyk

The domain extension for KayakNet's naming system (e.g., example.kyk).