How some market random number generators are now known to be weak

• Main Author: Zhou, Nan
• Other Authors: Tay Kian Boon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Computer science and engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137832
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Pseudorandom Number Generators are deterministic algorithms which take in a value obtained from an entropy source, a seed, as input and output a sequence of values that appears to be generated independently with no distinguishable patterns. This project will evaluate three different known pseudorandom number generator algorithms used and investigate its possible vulnerabilities. The goal of this project is to understand the vulnerabilities of these pseudorandom number generators and thus reduce the risk of damage from potential attacks arising from exploitation of these vulnerabilities. First, the criteria of a cryptographically secure random number generator are investigated through literature review. Next, three different type of well-known Pseudorandom Number Generators: Linear Congruential Generator, Dual Elliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator and Mersenne Twister are investigated. Overall, it is important to ensure that the entropy source for the seed is sufficiently random and take into consideration the level of forward and backwards secrecy of the deterministic algorithm.