4 Analogies to Explain ZK, FHE, MPC, and TEE

ZK (Zero-Knowledge Proofs)

1. You have some milk.
2. You can prove that the milk came from 2 cows, but you don’t know exactly which 2 cows or how they produced the milk.

FHE (Fully Homomorphic Encryption)

1. You have a milking machine.
2. You can produce milk without needing to know if there are 2 cows present.

MPC (Multi-Party Computation)

1. You and your neighbor jointly own 2 cows.
2. Each of you can milk them, but neither of you knows which part of the cow you’re milking.

TEE (Trusted Execution Environment)

1. You have 2 cows.
2. You keep them in a secure barn that no one else can enter.
3. The cows can only be milked while inside the barn.

Summary

These analogies simplify the complex concepts of ZK, FHE, MPC, and TEE by relating them to familiar scenarios involving cows and milk.

ZK focuses on proving something without revealing specific details, FHE allows operations without knowing the underlying data, MPC involves collaboration without complete knowledge, and TEE ensures security by restricting access to a controlled environment.

Each method offers a unique approach to handling data securely and efficiently in various computing contexts.