New protocol ECO/CPO-DAG detects fraud in supply chains
ECO/CPO-DAG uses contradiction proofs to slash fraudulent actors in real-time supply chains.
Sebastian Cochinescu (PhD ABD) unveiled ECO/CPO-DAG, a domain-specific accountability layer for adversarial supply chains. The protocol operates by requiring participants to publish signed Event Claim Objects (ECOs) into a causally ordered DAG, where edges encode happened-before relations. When two claims contradict a domain constraint—such as spatial uniqueness or quantity conservation—any observer can compile a self-verifying Contradiction Proof Object (CPO) that binds the claims and the violated rule. Public verification of a CPO triggers economic slashing of the determinately blamed party.
The protocol maps constraints to GS1 EPCIS 2.0 event semantics and supports selective disclosure via commitment schemes and zero-knowledge proofs. Cochinescu provides analytical models: a detection probability of 1-(1-p_min)^h for independent observers and a deterrence condition S > g(1-p)/(kp) under k-party collusion. Storage is estimated at ~1 GB per participant per year. A single-machine reference implementation corroborates the detection model, achieving 95% confidence intervals with zero false accusations, though zero-knowledge CPOs and adaptive-adversary evasion remain theoretical.
- ECO/CPO-DAG uses signed ECOs and self-verifying CPOs to detect contradictions in adversarial supply chains, targeting domain constraints like spatial uniqueness and quantity conservation.
- Storage is ~1 GB/participant/year; detection model achieves 95% confidence intervals with zero false accusations in reference implementation.
- Protocol complements existing verification layers by providing provable accountability without replacing source verification or oracle aggregation.
Why It Matters
ECO/CPO-DAG offers a cryptographic way to slash fraud in real-time supply chains, reducing financial losses and increasing trust in adversarial ecosystems.