Roll Your Own High Entropy Hardware Randomness Generator

30 Oct 2005 •

In this paper, we explain how to construct a High-Entropy Randomness Generator, suitable for a wide range of applications, including extremely demanding ones. We will explain and then use some key theoretical ideas:
* We start with a raw input, typically from a good-quality sound card.
* We obtain a reliable lower bound on the raw input’s entropy density (as defined in appendix A). This is calculated based on physics principles plus a few easily-measured macroscopic properties of the sound card. (This stands in stark contrast to other approaches, which obtain a loose upper bound based on statistical tests on the data.)
* We make use of the hash saturation principle, as discussed in section 3.2. The resulting output has essentially 100% entropy density. This is provably correct under mild assumptions.
* We use no secret internal state and therefore require no seed.
* We do not depend on assumptions about “one-way functions”.
We have implemented a generator using these principles. The result is what most people would call a True Random Number Generator. Salient engineering features include:
* It costs next to nothing. It uses the thermal fluctuations intrinsic to the computer’s audio I/O system.
* It emphatically does not depend on imperfections in the audio I/O system. Indeed, high-quality sound cards are much more suitable than low-quality ones. It relies on fundamental physics, plus the most basic, well-characterized properties of the audio system: gain and bandwidth.
* It can produce thousands of bytes per second of output.
* Remarkably little CPU time is required.
* It includes optional integrity-monitoring and tamper-resistance capabilities.