A Lightweight QR-assisted Zero-knowledge Identification Protocol For Secure Authentication

Abstract: This study proposes a lightweight Zero-Knowledge authentication model supported by QR codes. The approach is based on the Schnorr authentication protocol and provides an additional security layer against replay attacks through nonce and timestamp mechanisms. The proof data generated by the prover is embedded within a QR code and transmitted to the verifier. Thus, the system enables verification of knowledge of the secret key without revealing it. Simulation results show that proof generation and verification times under a 256-bit security level are in the millisecond range. Additionally, the proof size remains constant at approximately 0.5 KB, making it suitable for practical applications in terms of QR code capacity. The findings indicate that the proposed model is applicable in mobile and low-resource systems in terms of both security and performance.