On the Security of Oscillator-Based Random Number Generators

Baudet, Mathieu; Lubicz, David; Micolod, Julien; Tassiaux, André

doi:10.1007/s00145-010-9089-3

Cited by 80 publications

(102 citation statements)

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“…standard ring oscillators) [21], [9], [22], multi-event ring oscillators with signal collisions (i.e. transition effect ring oscillators) [7], multi-event ring oscillators without signal collisions (i.e.…”

Section: Selection Of Trng Coresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A survey of AIS-20/31 compliant TRNG cores suitable for FPGA devices

Petura

Mureddu

Bochard

et al. 2016

2016 26th International Conference on Field Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL)

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Abstract-FPGAs are widely used to integrate cryptographic primitives, algorithms, and protocols in cryptographic systemson-chip (CrySoC). As a building block of CrySoCs, True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) exploit analog noise sources in electronic devices to generate confidential keys, initialization vectors, challenges, nonces, and random masks in cryptographic protocols. TRNGs aimed at cryptographic applications must fulfill the security requirements defined in the German Federal Bureau for Information Security's (BSI) recommendations AIS-20/31, which has become a de facto standard in Europe. Many TRNG cores have already been published, only a few of which are suitable for FPGAs and even fewer comply with AIS-20/31. Here we present the results of the implementation of AIS-20/31 compliant TRNG cores in three FPGA families: Xilinx Spartan 6, Altera Cyclone V and Microsemi SmartFusion 2. In addition to common design parameters like area, bit rate and power/energy consumption, we compare and discuss the feasibility of generator cores in different FPGAs and the statistical quality of their output. These results will help designers select the best generator and the device family to match the requirements of the data security application. To ensure reproducibility of the results, the open source VHDL code of all generators adapted to individual families can be downloaded from the dedicated web page.

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Section: Selection Of Trng Coresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ring oscillator based elementary TRNG (ERO-TRNG) was prosed and modeled in [21]. The block diagram of the ERO-TRNG as implemented in FPGAs is depicted in Fig.…”

Section: Implementation Of Selected Trng Cores In Fpga a Ring Osmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of AIS-20/31 compliant TRNG cores suitable for FPGA devices

Petura

Mureddu

Bochard

et al. 2016

2016 26th International Conference on Field Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL)

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“…But even the local component of the jitter is made of a combination of different types of noise with different statistical properties (see [14, p. 23]). In [1], the authors proposed a statistical model for an elementary TRNG, that computes the entropy rate originating from the random walk phase noise. This statistical model has two parameters: drift and the volatility parameters of the Wiener stochastic model.…”

Section: ])mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowing these parameters, we can then compute a lower bound of the entropy rate of the source corresponding to the random walk component of the jitter. Using the lower bound of entropy rate and the statistical model in [1], designers can set the frequency of the sampling clock in order to guarantee the required entropy rate at the TRNG output. Our technique is a simple extension of the classical design of an elementary TRNG.…”

Section: ])mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We use f α as a convenient model for the clock signal produced by a ring oscillator, which generally has imbalanced half periods (α = 1/2). The reason we chose 1/2 for the value of f α (0) (rising edge of the clock signal) and f α (α) (falling edge) is to be coherent with the notations of [1] but in fact, this is of little concern for the results presented in this paper. We do not consider amplitude fluctuations since, as explained in [11, p. 134], their contribution to the jitter is negligible in the case of a clock signal.…”

Section: The Period Jitter Of An Elementary Trngmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards an Oscillator Based TRNG with a Certified Entropy Rate

Lubicz¹,

Bochard

2015

IEEE Trans. Comput.

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Abstract-We describe a practical and efficient method to determine the entropy rate of a TRNG based on free running oscillators that does not require outputting and analyzing the clock signals with external equipment. Rather it relies on very simple computations that can be embedded in any logic device such as FPGA or ASIC. The method can be used for the calibration of an oscillator based TRNG or for on-line certification of its entropy rate. Our approach, which is inspired by the coherent sampling method, works under the general assumption that the period jitter is small compared to the period of the generated clock signal. We show that, in this case, it is possible to measure the relative phase between clocks of two oscillators with far higher precision than the time resolution given by the period of any internal clock signal. We use this observation to recover, under some reasonable heuristics, the distribution of the random walk component of the jitter, from which it is possible to compute a lower bound of the entropy rate of the TRNG. Our method was thoroughly tested in simulations and in hardware. At the end of the paper, we draw some conclusions and make recommendations for a reliable implementation of TRNGs in cryptographic applications.

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Embedded electronic circuits for cryptography, hardware security and true random number generation: an overview

Acosta

Addabbo

Tena-Sánchez

2016

Circuit Theory & Apps

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We provide an overview of selected crypto-hardware devices, with a special reference to the lightweight electronic implementation of encryption/decryption schemes, hash functions, and true random number generators. In detail, we discuss the hardware implementation of the chief algorithms used in private-key cryptography, public-key cryptography, and hash functions, discussing some important security issues in electronic crypto-devices, related to side-channel attacks (SCAs), fault injection attacks, and the corresponding design countermeasures that can be taken. Finally, we present an overview about the hardware implementation of true random number generators, discussing the chief electronic sources of randomness and the types of post-processing techniques used to improve the statistical characteristics of the generated random sequences.A. J. ACOSTA, T. ADDABBO AND E. TENA-SÁNCHEZ resource consumption. This matter sets the point for the lightweight cryptography, that is, the subfield of cryptography aiming to provide solutions tailored for resource-constrained devices.According to Elsevier Scopus, the largest database of research peer-reviewed literature, since 2010, about 40k documents are returned if searching the keyword 'cryptography' [6]. A huge subset of these papers deals with conceptual, algorithmic, software, hardware solutions that may be taken into account in lightweight cryptography. In the face of such a vast literature, in this work, we provide a brief overview of selected crypto-hardware devices, with a special reference to the lightweight electronic implementation of encryption/decryption schemes, hash functions, and true random number generators (TRNGs).This paper is organized as in the following. In Section 2, we introduce some terminology and present an overview of the hardware implementation of the chief algorithms used in private-key cryptography, public-key cryptography (PKC), and hash functions. In Sections 3 and 4, we introduce some important security concerns about electronic crypto-devices, discussing SCAs, fault injection attacks, and the corresponding countermeasures that can be taken in the hardware design. Finally, Sections 5-8 are devised to provide an overview about the electronic implementation of TRNGs. In detail, in Sections 5 and 6, we discuss about security flaws, statistical defects, and predictability of TRNGs, presenting the chief sources of randomness used nowadays for their hardware implementation. In Sections 7 and 8, we discuss an overview of the different post-processing techniques aimed to improve the statistical characteristics of the generated random sequences and the evaluation methods used to assess the reliability of cryptographic TRNGs. Conclusion and References close the paper. CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMSCryptographic algorithms aim to convert secret data into an unreadable code for non authorized persons, protecting secret information from theft or alteration and also enabling authentication. For better understanding, in the next sections, we define the following...

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On the Security of Oscillator-Based Random Number Generators

Cited by 80 publications

References 10 publications

A survey of AIS-20/31 compliant TRNG cores suitable for FPGA devices

A survey of AIS-20/31 compliant TRNG cores suitable for FPGA devices

Towards an Oscillator Based TRNG with a Certified Entropy Rate

Embedded electronic circuits for cryptography, hardware security and true random number generation: an overview

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