A game theoretic model of a protocol for data possession verification

This report discusses how to model a protocol for the verification of data possession that is intended to secure a cooperative peer-to-peer storage application. The verification protocol is a primitive for cooperation assessment, and indirectly motivates nodes to behave cooperatively within the application. This capability of the protocol to enforce cooperation between a data holder and a data owner is proved theoretically by modeling the verification protocol as a Bayesian game, and demonstrating that the solution of the game is an equilibrium where both parties, owner and holder, are cooperative.