papers/zoo-mpc-custody/sections/05-research-data-access-control.tex

\section{Research Data Access Control}

\label{sec:data-access}

\subsection{Encrypted Data Vaults}

Research datasets are stored as encrypted blobs on Zoo Network's data availability layer:

\begin{equation}
D_{\text{enc}} = \text{AES-256-GCM}(k_{\text{data}}, D_{\text{raw}})
\end{equation}

The data encryption key $k_{\text{data}}$ is itself encrypted under the MPC group's public key:

\begin{equation}
k_{\text{enc}} = \text{ECIES.Enc}(pk_{\text{mpc}}, k_{\text{data}})
\end{equation}

Decryption requires threshold cooperation to recover $k_{\text{data}}$.

\subsection{Access Tiers}

\begin{table}[t]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lccc}
\toprule
\textbf{Tier} & \textbf{Data Type} & \textbf{Threshold} & \textbf{Approval} \\
\midrule
Public & Aggregated statistics & None & Automatic \\
Restricted & De-identified records & $(1, 3)$ & Researcher only \\
Confidential & Raw GPS/genetic data & $(2, 3)$ & Researcher + DAO \\
Classified & Anti-poaching intelligence & $(3, 3)$ & All parties \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Research data access tiers with increasing threshold requirements.}
\label{tab:tiers}
\end{table}

\subsection{Institutional Review Protocol}

For Confidential and Classified data, the DAO's approval involves an on-chain institutional review:

\begin{enumerate}
    \item \textbf{Application}: Requesting researcher submits an access application with stated purpose, data handling plan, and ethics declaration.
    \item \textbf{Review}: Three DAO-appointed reviewers evaluate the application (7-day review period).
    \item \textbf{Vote}: Reviewers vote approve/reject. Majority (2/3 reviewers) required.
    \item \textbf{Access}: On approval, DAO key share activated for threshold decryption.
    \item \textbf{Audit}: Data access logged on-chain; usage auditable by any ZOO token holder.
\end{enumerate}