Protocol Engineering Swarm

311-status-protocol.md

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+---
+id: 311-status-protocol
+title: Protocol Engineering Swarm
+---
+
+# Protocol Engineering Swarm
+
+Draft, 2018-12-01.
+
+## Summary
+This swarm will research and develop a set of open protocols that is a
+reflection of our [our principles](https://our.status.im/our-principles/).
+
+This set of protocols will as a whole enable the implementation of the Status
+whitepaper, and similar use cases, through various clients. Part of the effort
+will be about selecting existing protocols and standards, when appropriate, and
+part of it will be about developing new protocols to meet our needs.
+
+Initial focus is on providing an anonymous communication protocol, which is
+developed in conjunction with other teams in the Web3 / secure messaging space.
+
+## Goals
+
+1. Create a set of open protocol(s) for secure messaging that reflects our
+   principles.
+
+2. Produce an open, independent protocol specification can be audited, tested
+   independently and implemented in many languages.
+
+3. Work with other teams in the Ethereum, Web3, decentralized web and secure
+   messaging space to ensure maximum interoperability and a high quality
+   specification that other actors take seriously.
+
+4. Use a layered protocol approach that is mindful and explicit about what it
+   requires, what it provides, under what threat models, and with what
+   trade-offs.
+
+5. Enable implementation of clients to participate in the Stauts Network, and
+   work with teams such as Status Core, to find a graceful path to implement and
+   integrate the new set of protocols.
+
+## Requirements
+
+### Weekly progress reports and accessible updates
+The swarm will provide weekly updates on research progress, either through this
+document, Discuss posts, Town Hall, or similar medium.
+
+The swarm will also periodically post more accessible material to explain the
+effort, challenges and trade-offs faced.
+
+### Using a layered and modular approach
+This swarm will ensure the the protocols are designed in a layered and modular
+fashion. This allows subproblems to be studied and progressing in isolation, as
+well giving the ability to swap out components per layer based on needs.
+
+Very rough thinking right now:
+- Initial trust establishment (e.g. something like BQP)
+
+- P2P Overlay layer (e.g. something like libp2p)
+- Transport privacy layer (e.g. something like Loopix)
+- Conversational security layer (e.g. something like BTP)
+- Syncing layer (e.g. something like BSP)
+
+- Chat clients (public/private/group chat)
+
+### Team growth and collaboration with other teams
+This effort is about creating open specifications, so we need access to a wide
+range of specialized skill sets, as well as general consensus among community.
+Creating a protocol in isolation would likely lead to a lackluster result.
+
+This swarm will collaborate with Ethereum / Web3 / decentralized web / secure
+messaging teams in an attempt to re-use existing work and create protocols
+together.
+
+Additionally, this team will involve individuals with relevant expertise.
+Ideally individuals who have designed 1-2 open, battle-tested p2p protocols.
+
+### Reflection of our principles
+
+The protocol should be a [reflection](https://our.status.im/tag/our-principles/)
+of [our principles](https://our.status.im/our-principles/).
+
+- I. Liberty - enable sovereignty of individuals with things like key
+  management, as well as economic freedom, etc, by enabling transaction of funds
+  and socio-economic coordination between small groups of people.
+
+- II. Censorship resistance - enable censorship resistance through things like
+  pluggable transports, as well as being agnostic to the information being
+  transported.
+
+- III. Security - use state-of-the-art technologies, and research new security
+  methods and technologies to make strong security guarantees.
+
+- IV. Privacy - protect privacy in communication and transactions, and strive to
+  provide right to total anonymity.
+
+- V. Transparency - be open about what we are doing, allow community
+  contributions and be clear about trade-offs.
+
+- VI. Openness - specification is open and under a permissive license.
+
+- VII. Decentralization - p2p network, maximizing number of computers/humans who
+  can control and use the protocol we are building.
+
+- VIII. Inclusivity - easy to use our protocols, as well as working towards
+  interopability with other protocols, and educating users.
+
+- IX. Continuance - network should be incentivized to continue on its own.
+
+- X. Resourcefulness - work with other teams to avoid duplication of effort,
+  study prior work deeply to minimize wasted and duplicate effort.
+
+### Anonymous Communication Protocol requirements
+
+The purpose of an anonymous communication (AC) protocol is to ensure metadata
+isn’t leaked when messages are communicated between peers. It deals with how
+messages are transported, and not what is in them.
+
+This is the inital focus and work has begun together with Web3 Foundation and
+Validity Labs. Note that this list of requirements is tentative.
+
+1. Sender Anonymity
+2. Receiver Anonymity
+3. Sender-Receiver Unlinkability
+4. Reasonable Latency
+5. Reasonable Bandwidth
+6. Adaptable Anonymity
+7. Scalable
+8. No specialized Services
+
+Up for debate: incentives, network spam, asynchronous messaging.
+
+For more details and the latest updates,
+see [w3f/messaging](https://github.com/w3f/messaging).
+
+## Budget
+
+Headcount based. Small group.
+
+## Team / contributors
+
+### Status
+
+- Oskar
+- <1-2 protocol engineerings>
+
+Review/part-time, pending other commitments:
+- Jacek
+- Andrea MP
+- Corey
+- Jarrad
+
+### Anonymous Communication Protocol
+
+- Web3 Foundation
+- Status
+- Validity Labs
+- who else?
+
+## Scope
+The above plan is ambitious and the team size is currently limited. It is thus
+likely the scope will be limited, at least initially, to ensure solid progress
+in the most fruitful direction and avoid scope creep.
+
+Expect the precise scope and requirements to change soemwhat as we get more
+familiar with the problem domain, and depending on how research and
+collaborations with other teams go.
+
+## Milestones
+
+Hard to provide with research, but rough timeline to indicate effort.
+
+### Team formation, initial research, and rough project timeline
+
+#### November 2018 - December 2018
+
+#### Goals:
+1. Study state of the art deeply
+– includes p2p and networking basic literature
+– as well as anonymity/secure p2p specific (Tor, Briar, etc)
+2. Sketch out rough layers of concerns
+3. Team formation and collaboration with others in the space
+4. Do write-up of lessons learned so far
+
+### Data replication/sync layer
+
+#### December 2018 - January 2018
+
+#### Goals
+Provide 'in-between layer' that synchronizes data over delay-tolerant p2p
+networks.
+
+Core abstraction that we are currently missing in the app and will give us more
+freedom going forward, as we implement more chat-like coordination mechanisms,
+and make progress on alternative transports like PSS and AC protocol below.
+
+Requires secure transport layer, and provides a way for clients to sync data on
+a peer to peer basis. Thinking very much in line with what BSP provides.
+
+Research and specification (protobuf) thereof. Sketch for how to provide with
+existing app, and work with Core team to make it into a reality.
+
+### Anonymous Communication Protoocol
+
+More details after conversations with Web3 Foundation etc.
+
+#### December 2018 - March 2018
+
+#### Goals
+- Requirements and goals in more details
+- Workshop with relevant teams
+- Specification that enables theoretical analysis of properties
+
+(- Later: theoretical analysis of properties)
+(- Later: viable implementation)
+
+### TBD.
+
+Other pieces here. Underspecified at the moment, but see general goals for
+direction. As research effort continues and above milestones are being achieved,
+this will be updated.
+
+## Research log
+
+### December 3 - December 9
+<CURRENT>
+
+WIP:
+- Looking into distributed/replicated state (BSP, protobuf)
+- Swarm proposal with rough milestones, clear separation and problem statements, 1 milestone
+
+### November 26 - December 2
+- Started awesome secure messaging GH repo: https://github.com/status-im/awesome-secure-messaging
+- Looking into distributed state / async messaging, some mixnetwork basics to understand how differ design-wise
+- Working with W3F, trying to setup time for workshop
+- Also separate Whisper spec effort ongoing
+
+### November 19 - November 25
+1. Sketch out requirements doc for anonymous communication protocol
+2. Talk with Web3 Foundation and Validity Labs
+3. Joint initiative started [here](https://github.com/w3f/messaging)
+
+See here for more details:
+https://discuss.status.im/t/protocol-anonymous-communication-requirements-and-brief-update/792
+
+### November 5 - November 18
+1. Initial rough proposal based on discussion at Devcon
+2. Initial early research orientiation
+3. Initial team scoping 
+
+See here for more details: https://discuss.status.im/t/hello-protocol-progress-since-prague/736
+
+## Resources
+
+- [Awesome Secure Messaging](https://github.com/status-im/awesome-secure-messaging)
+- [Status Protocol / Swarm Chat](https://get.status.im/chat/public/status-protocol)
+- [Riot / Web3 Messaging Chat](https://riot.im/app/#/room/#web3-messaging:matrix.org)
+- [Anonymous Communication Protocol](https://github.com/w3f/messaging)
+
+## Copyright
+
+Waived, CC0.