Paper 2025/348 Original: eprint.iacr.org/2025/348 ↗

Juicebox Protocol: Distributed Storage and Recovery of Secrets Using Simple PIN Authentication

Abstract

Existing secret management techniques demand users memorize complex passwords, store convoluted recovery phrases, or place their trust in a specific service or hardware provider. We have designed a novel protocol that combines existing cryptographic techniques to eliminate these complications and reduce user complexity to recalling a short PIN. Our protocol specifically focuses on a distributed approach to secret storage that leverages Oblivious Pseudorandom Functions (OPRFs) and a Secret-Sharing Scheme (SSS) combined with self-destructing secrets to minimize the trust placed in any singular server. Additionally, our approach allows for servers distributed across organizations, eliminating the need to trust a singular service operator. We have built an open-source implementation of the client and server sides of this new protocol, the latter of which has variants for running on commodity hardware and secure hardware.