Decentralized Password Manager

Abstract

This paper presents Cipher-Safe, a novel architecture for a decentralized password management system that enhances user security and control by leveraging a combination of zero-knowledge principles, distributed storage, and modern cryptographic techniques. The system uses Firebase for user authentication and metadata storage, while employing Shamir's Secret Sharing to split encrypted credentials into fragments. These fragments are then distributed across the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS) via the Pinata pinning service. All cryptographic and distributed logic is orchestrated through server-side AI flows managed by Google's Genkit framework. This approach eliminates central points of failure and ensures that not even the service provider can access user passwords, thereby offering a robust and trustless security model. The implementation utilizes a Next.js frontend, providing a responsive and secure user experience.

KEYWORDS: Decentralized Security, Password Management, Zero-Knowledge Cryptography, Shamir’s Secret Sharing, IPFS, Distributed Systems, Trustless Architecture, Next.js