[65694] in Cypherpunks
Re: Uses of Computational Chaos
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Adamsc)
Tue Sep 17 17:17:36 1996
From: Adamsc@io-online.com (Adamsc)
To: "cypherpunks@toad.com" <cypherpunks@toad.com>,
"E. Allen Smith" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 96 12:17:38 -0800
Reply-To: "Chris Adams" <adamsc@io-online.com>
On Sat, 14 Sep 1996 23:37 EDT, E. Allen Smith wrote:
> It is reasonably obvious that using _computational_ (as opposed to
>physical) chaos won't increase entropy. But how about using it to make an
>attacker work harder to use any flaws in your method of generating random
>bits? As a simplistic example, say that the scribble window you're using tends
>to result in a 1 for each 3rd bit. Nice and simple for an attacker to exploit.
Supposing, too, that you know these weaknesses, would using separate algorithms
for different portions of the number work well?
# Chris Adams <adamsc@io-online.com> | http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp
# cadams@acucobol.com | V.M. (619)515-4894
"I have never been able to figure out why anyone would want to play games on
a computer in any case when the whole system is a game. Word processing,
spreadsheets, telecoms -- it's all a game. And they pay you to play it."
-- Duncan Frissell
