The generation of random or pseudorandom data, and the use of randomness in security protocols
2
votes
1answer
103 views
For a “normal” computer user, does it make a difference to have a good entropy source?
Let's take, for example, Linux. From my understanding, there are different sources and different ways that can be used to gather entropy (RNG daemon, Intel rrandr, TPM, etc). Some produce entropy that ...
71
votes
5answers
13k views
What makes Random Number Generators so fragile?
It seems to me that a hardware component which generates random numbers is extremely simple - just measure tiny vibrations in the hardware with a sensor, right? Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like if ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
What function is used to generate client random in TLS
I've been learning TLS. During the Client-Server Hello their random values are shared. The client generates a 28 byte random and combine it with 4 bytes of epoch time to generate a 32 byte random ...
1
vote
1answer
57 views
How to reverse engineer str_shuffle (PHP) to get its mt_rand outputs
$output = str_shuffle("12345");
E.g. $output is now 25134
How do I find out what numbers came out of mt_rand() to allow for the shuffle
I want to know this because I want the seed of mt_rand() and ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Is a substring of base64 encoded random_bytes less secure then just using random_bytes
$bytes = random_bytes(15);
$encoded = base64_encode($bytes);
$output = substr($encoded, 0, 15);
Does this code affect the complexity of the output vs just using
$output = random_bytes(15);
I think ...
1
vote
1answer
186 views
Would `cat /dev/random` be a denial of service to any other users of `/dev/random`?
As in the question. Wouldn't cat /dev/random decrease the entropy estimate until it blocks, which forces the random device to block for all applications on the current system?
16
votes
2answers
1k views
Is “always use /dev/urandom” still good advice in an age of containers and isolation?
In short: Instead of another question asking about when to use /dev/random instead of /dev/urandom, I present the following scenario, in which I find myself in an application I'm building:
A VM or ...
1
vote
0answers
58 views
Does OpenSSH use padding of random lengths?
According to the end of RFC 4253 § 6, the random padding introduced to each SSH packet is an arbitrary multiple of 8. It mentions that random padding lengths can mitigate traffic analysis:
Note ...
2
votes
1answer
172 views
Injecting data into the Windows entropy pool
On Linux, it is possible for userspace to mix arbitrary data with the kernel entropy pool by writing to the /dev/urandom device. Is there any equivalent on Windows which does not require SYSTEM?
1
vote
0answers
68 views
Problem in Cracking PHP rand() seed on windows
I read this article https://www.sjoerdlangkemper.nl/2016/02/11/cracking-php-rand/ about cracking php rand() function. and I involved with some problems on testing methods mentioned in article. I used ...
-3
votes
1answer
268 views
How to correctly use dev/urandom for random generation [closed]
Runs before main:
d -c 30 /dev/urandom > random.bytes
Access the randomly generated numbers
int main() {
FILE *fp;
int fd = open("random.bytes",O_RDONLY);
fp = fopen("file.txt" , ...
7
votes
1answer
246 views
Unix command to generate cryptographically secure random string
Is the following Unix command cryptographically secure to randomly generate 20 characters (a-zA-Z0-9 only)?
dd if=/dev/urandom bs=256 count=1 2> /dev/null | LC_ALL=C tr -dc 'A-Za-z0-9' | head -c20
...
9
votes
1answer
121 views
Random seed not propagating to the entropy pools in a timely manner
The Linux kernel's randomness driver collects entropy from the environment. Because there will be little entropy during boot, a random seed is often kept at /var/lib/misc/random-seed or a similar ...
3
votes
0answers
154 views
Entropy sources used by modern Windows
A comment on a Microsoft blog from 2005 mentions over 150 sources of entropy for the Windows CryptGenRandom function. The majority of sources come from low-level system information (precise stat ...
208
votes
11answers
40k views
Why is Math.random() not designed to be cryptographically secure?
The JavaScript Math.random() function is designed to return a single floating point value n such that 0 ≤ n < 1. It is (or at least should be) widely known that the output is not cryptographically ...
3
votes
1answer
95 views
Linux 'add_interrupt_randomness' implementation - low entropy contribution by cycles and jiffies?
Currently I'm analyzing the process of entropy generation of a Linux 64-bit kernel during system startup (for educational purpose). The system is hosted as/on a (64 bit) virtual machine (Xen domU). ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
Need advices on API key & secret generation?
While working on a Java project using Spring-boot, Spring-security and JWT token, I need to provide access via API key and secret. After searching on Google for a while about key/secret generation, ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Key Generation on FIPS device or using SW with FIPS generator
I would like to understand the difference between these two options how to generate AES key.
AES key is generated directly in FIPS 140-2 Level 3 device with validated AES
algorithm
AES key is ...
0
votes
0answers
131 views
How secure is BouncyCastle's SecureRandom .NET(C#) class?
I've already seen some question related to this, but the most upvoted answer just states that SecureRandom is not DumbRandom basically (yes, it doesn't use DateTime.Now.Ticks as its seed, of course).
...
2
votes
3answers
124 views
XOR of many prime sized cycles: secure?
I thought of a PRNG which is dependent on a large amount of good salt. The method is to use the salt to fill many arrays whose lengths are prime numbers, and cycle through each array, and ouput the ...
1
vote
1answer
128 views
Generating a secret on a compromised computer
Suppose we are on a compromised computer (for example infested with trojans logging key presses or taking screenshots) and for some reason we have to generate a number that's supposed to be secret for ...
4
votes
2answers
210 views
What role do hashing and block ciphers play in random number generation?
I read about pseudo random number generators and there were certain demands on which "underlying hash function" and "underlying block cipher" to use. What role do hashing algorithms and block ciphers ...
5
votes
1answer
161 views
How would someone attack a not truly random secret produced by a human?
Especially in cryptocurrencies you often hear people say that private key/seeds should not be typed "randomly" by humans, but rather use a truly random number generator. I understand, that humans ...
3
votes
1answer
137 views
Are many rounds of SHA needed for a random veracrypt key
Assume that I've used white noise from the classic "zener breakdown" circuit to produce 512 bits of random data.
If I use these as the key to a Veracrypt volume, is there any benefit to running 200,...
1
vote
2answers
463 views
Is it possible to predict Python's random.random() if it is constantly seeded with high entropy values?
I am interested in understanding if it is possible to predict Python 3 random.random() when seeded with high entropy value from a physical system, like a dice toss.
In other words, is random.random() ...
2
votes
3answers
340 views
Does the existence of two-factor recovery codes mean that my 2-factor code isn't completely random?
With some services that use standard 6-digit TOTP codes, they also offer the ability to have a set of backup codes, in case you lose your two factor device.
With Google, for example, you can print ...
0
votes
1answer
185 views
Most widely used non Cryptographic random number generators
I want to research pseudo random number generators, and I see that a lot of the random number generators are not as secure as people assume.
What I would like to know is what are the most widely used ...
1
vote
0answers
70 views
What's the difference between random number evaluation among AIS-31 AIS-20 and NIST sp800-22
I'm trying to know about the evaluation of random number generated by smart card chip. But these standards AIS-31, AIS-20 and NIST sp800-22 confuse me. Could someone help me with a brief explanation ...
0
votes
2answers
170 views
Does a completely random string produce a completely random hash
As the title states, say you create a hypothetical completely random string like one used for a OTP. Would hashing the string (provided it is the same length and possible characters as the hash ...
4
votes
2answers
109 views
Is it still secure if a cryptographic key generated with OpenSSL while a backdoored HWRNG used?
Assuming I plugged a HWRNG in to my Linux machine, use OpenSSL to generate a RSA key pair and encrypted some text with AES. Later then, a researcher posted the HWRNG was backdoored. Should I consider ...
57
votes
4answers
11k views
Expert quote on entropy for uncrackable password
Could anyone point to a quote in a published work - or suggest a recognised expert who might provide a quote - which answers the following question
How much entropy in a password would guarantee ...
4
votes
2answers
192 views
Research about entropy of human randomness?
An argument people often use in favor of password managers is:
Human-generated passwords have less entropy than randomly generated ones!
Is there any research to back this up? Can we quantify it?
...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Why are randomly generated passwords usually hex?
Most of the time, when I see a randomly generated password, it's hexadecimal, i.e. only uses the character set [0-9a-f]. Wouldn't it be much more secure if the character set were [0-9a-z], let alone [...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
Content Delivery Security
An application has 2 servers - Server1 and Server2.
Server1 stores db and image+video files. Server2 stores a copy of all image+video files.
According to the geographical location of a user, if ...
1
vote
1answer
369 views
SHA256 for IV for AES-256 CBC?
When making an IV for AES-256 CBC mode the IV should be random and shouldn't be able to be guessed.
If I were to use the rand() function in C, seeded with time(NULL) to generate sim random numbers ...
3
votes
1answer
88 views
Is my OpenPGP key rubbish because of bad entropy?
I had problems generating an OpenPGP key on my XUbuntu machine, because GnuPG did not get enough entropy. After some time of browsing and doing stupid stuff to generate more entropy, still nothing ...
3
votes
1answer
227 views
GETRANDOM syscall's relation to kernel entropy pool state
I get that when GETRANDOM is called with bitmask 00, the entropy source is from /dev/urandom, and the CSPRNG output is blocking until internal entropy pool has at least 128 bits of entropy. Is the ...
2
votes
1answer
365 views
Windows .NET equivalent to Linux /dev/random
Is there a pseudo device-based random data stream/file that can be used in Windows .NET programming in the same way as /dev/random can be read and used as a source of random values on Linux based ...
1
vote
3answers
252 views
Are outputs of this random string generating software safe to use as strong passwords?
Over a year ago, I've created a small form-based software.
It's purpose, as the title states, is random string generation.
It has options to combine numerical, small caps, large caps and special ...
1
vote
2answers
569 views
Why are hardware based random number generators considered better than software based generators?
Hardware based random number generators (RNG) get their randomness from the noise around. Software based generators get this usually from user input, like moving the mouse over a screen (like ...
1
vote
8answers
2k views
How should I securely generate random passwords when importing new users?
I need to generate random passwords when importing new users from an external source. I'm currently doing it by taking a random assortment of 8 lowercase/uppercase letters, and numbers. I am also ...
1
vote
1answer
184 views
Random numbers used in TLS
I found in the RFC about TLS v1.2 that master_secret is computed this way:
master_secret = PRF(pre_master_secret, "master secret",
ClientHello.random + ServerHello.random)
...
0
votes
2answers
291 views
Can Haveged help increasing entropy and make PRNG unpredictable (close to TRNG) on embedded Linux based headless device?
We have OpenSSL on BealgboneBlack Based Embedded Linux custom board and we were thinking about increasing randomness of PRNG(/dev/urandom).
While browsing about it, I landed on this page: How to ...
0
votes
1answer
165 views
What are some possible ways of sending anonymous request to re-crawl to Google? [closed]
This is a proposed architecture for submitting anonymous request to re-crawl the web page to google bot. I tried to come up with the solution given below. The intention of posting it here is to know ...
3
votes
3answers
240 views
Use USB TRNG as source of randomness for OpenSSL key generation
I have an idquantique TRNG (USB).
On my Debian machine, I can easily create a file on my disk coming from that TRNG filled with some random content.
Is it possible to make OpenSSL and GnuPG (for key ...
-1
votes
3answers
815 views
Generate a truly random text string with PHP? [duplicate]
How can I generate a truly cryptographically secure random text string in PHP (to be used as password)?
Allowed: a-z, A-Z, 0-9
Blocked: Everything else
4
votes
2answers
343 views
use of PRNG in OpenSSL - fips mode
I am working on a centos based network device , required to pass fips 140-2 level 2.
I plan to use openssl in fips mode and CTR_DRBG will use as PRNG.
will this be enough for meeting NIST SP 800-90 ...
9
votes
1answer
121 views
On the Use of Deltas in Linux Entropy Estimators
Recently, I've become interested in applied cryptography and stumbled upon a link explaining how Linux estimates entropy.
At some point, we're told that entropy estimation is based on first, second ...
3
votes
2answers
398 views
Do I need a “cryptographically secure” random value for an unguessable URL?
tl;dr: Is a pseudorandomly generated string unguessable enough to be used as token in a URL?
I'm making a web application, let's for the sake of argument assume it's another PasteBin. I allow users ...
2
votes
1answer
168 views
How do SED drives generate the DEK?
Some newer hard drives and solid state drives are SED (Self-Encrypting Drives), which create a DEK (Data Encryption Key) and store it either unencrypted, or encrypted with a user-supplied AK (...
