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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Sat Apr 10 1999 - 01:18:05
James A. Donald (jamesd@echeque.com)
Sun, 24 Jan 1999 19:23:18 -0800
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At 08:13 AM 1/25/99 +0800, Enzo Michelangeli wrote:
> Besides the fact that all sources are "physical" (are there
> spiritual data sources?), they may contain biases that make
> their output somehow predictable
Since this is Intel, let us also consider the possibility of
bungling, rather than NSA pressure.
Suppose our underlying truly random noise source generates
75% zeros, and sometimes, at random, a one bit.
If each 160 bit group of output was run through SHA, it would
not be apparent that source was faulty.
Worse, let us suppose the proportion of zeroes varies from
one chip to another, with the result that on some machines
the output was highly predictable, and on others it was not.
I expect that Intel will eventually give us the detailed
design of this device, rather than the incoherent ramblings
of marketers. If they do not give us that information, then
the value of the device cannot be verified.
True randomness can only be demonstrated from theory plus
experiment. It can never be known by experiment alone. No
black box should ever be trusted as a source of true
randomness. The box must be understood, in order to be known
to be truly random.
In order to know that something really is random, we have to
know why it is random.
--digsig
James A. Donald
6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG
nHqkrxV5gt95GB2NIipag51v9gbwfS588v6x9Lmc
4je/wq++wVhOz1OvFwCYdu2k81H1Ae6zwhKMt3XBK
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We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because
of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this
right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state.
http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ James A. Donald
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Sat Apr 10 1999 - 01:18:05