Fractal Eavesdrop Detection Protocol (Whitepaper v0.8)

Abstract — The Fractal Eavesdrop Detection (FED) protocol defines a cryptographic mutual-authentication... The Fractal Eavesdrop Detection (FED) protocol defines a cryptographic mutual-authentication and integrity validation mechanism between two fractal nodes sharing a recursive lineage. Unlike conventional systems that rely on fixed keys or static hashes, FED uses algorithmic mutability, session-based seed derivation, multi-point challenge validation, and time-bound CRC binding to detect both impersonation and passive eavesdropping. The protocol is designed for lightweight, low-power devices such as ESP32-class microcontrollers and operates without blockchain consensus or zero-knowledge proofs, while still enabling secure proof-of-origin and tamper-awareness. FED serves as the security and validation layer within the EQUORA Institute’s Fractal Economy architecture and complements the BlockFractal cryptographic tokenization layer and the EquoraVault hardware-based proof-of-impact system. This document is released as part of the EQUORA Institute White Paper Series and is a preprint version (v0.8), subject to revision. All versions remain archived for DOI-based citation integrity.