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Basic vetKeys example (Rust)

This example demonstrates how to use the Internet Computer's vetKeys feature to:

  1. Derive a (symmetric) cryptographic AES-GCM-256 key in the user's browser, and use it there for encryption and decryption.
  2. Use identity-based encryption (IBE) to encrypt some plaintext for a particular principal, derive a respective decryption key in the user's browser for the user that is currently logged in, and use it to decrypt some ciphertext.

It includes:

  • An example app backend canister (src/app_backend) implemented in Rust that provides caller-specific symmetric keys that can be used for AES encryption and decryption.

  • An example frontend (src/app_frontend_js) that uses the backend from Javascript in the browser.

    The frontend uses the ic-vetkd-utils to create a transport key pair that is used to obtain a verifiably encrypted key from the system API, to decrypt this key, and to derive a symmetric key to be used for AES encryption/decryption.

    Because the ic-vetkd-utils are not yet published as NPM package at npmjs.com, a respective package file (ic-vetkd-utils-0.1.0.tgz) is included in this repository.

Prerequisites​

  • Install the IC SDK.
  • Clone the example dapp project: git clone https://github.com/dfinity/examples
  • Install Node.js.
  • Install Rust, and add Wasm as a target (rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown).

Begin by opening a terminal window.

Step 1: Setup project environment​

Navigate into the folder containing the project's files and start a local instance of the replica with the command:

cd examples/rust/vetkd
dfx start --background --clean

Step 2: Set up dependencies for a Node.js​

Ensure that the required node modules are available in your project directory, if needed, by running the following command:

npm install

Step 3: Register, build, and deploy the project:​

dfx deploy

This command should finish successfully with output similar to the following one:

Deployed canisters.
URLs:
  Frontend canister via browser:
    app_frontend_js:
      - http://xobql-2x777-77774-qaaja-cai.localhost:4943/ (Recommended)
      - http://127.0.0.1:4943/?canisterId=xobql-2x777-77774-qaaja-cai (Legacy)
    internet_identity:
      - http://xjaw7-xp777-77774-qaajq-cai.localhost:4943/ (Recommended)
      - http://127.0.0.1:4943/?canisterId=xjaw7-xp777-77774-qaajq-cai (Legacy)
  Backend canister via Candid interface:
    app_backend: http://127.0.0.1:4943/?canisterId=x4hhs-wh777-77774-qaaka-cai&id=xhc3x-m7777-77774-qaaiq-cai
    internet_identity: http://127.0.0.1:4943/?canisterId=x4hhs-wh777-77774-qaaka-cai&id=xjaw7-xp777-77774-qaajq-cai

Step 4: Open frontend​

Open the URL for the app_frontend_js (printed in the previous step) in your browser.