Restoring Access

In a simple secret key scenario, a backup is used to restore access. It does not protect the key from being compromised; rather, it even increases the risks associated with maintaining the confidentiality of not only the active copy, but also the backup.

Using a distributed key, you can back up each of the components and recover lost components in the same way, but GP7 uses an alternative way that does not increase risks.

Key separation in GP7 Wallet occurs in such a way that only two of the three components are needed to generate the signature.

Let’s assume that the complete key is ABC. It's distributed components are AB, BC, and AC. It’s clear that the complete key can be obtained using any two components. This is called threshold division. In this case, if the user loses one of the components, he/she can still create signatures but risks losing control in case another component gets lost, so it is necessary to recover the initial state with three components as soon as possible.

For recovery, first, three new keys — XYZ — are generated, and then transactions are signed using the saved components of ABC in order to transfer all available funds from ABC to XYZ.