[117608] in Cypherpunks
Re: Build a better OTP?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jim Gillogly)
Tue Sep 7 01:10:52 1999
Message-ID: <37D49AD5.6BA7010F@acm.org>
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 04:55:49 +0000
From: Jim Gillogly <jim@acm.org>
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Reply-To: Jim Gillogly <jim@acm.org>
Somebody said (about the Intel P3 RNG):
> Actually, the device driver was written by Intel, not by Microsoft,
> and was reviewed by Kocher along with the hardware design. It does have
> the ability to detect failure modes of the chip, as described in section
> 4.6 of Kocher's review.
...
>> Maybe the one Paul tested was fine, but mine is wedged..
>
> The chips are tested both during manufacture and during operation.
...
> There are several reasons for Intel's reticence. The main one is that
> they want people to access the chip via a standard API which provides
> high quality random bits. This is normal software engineering practice.
I'm frankly not interested in using it under Windows, and I suspect
many people who would like to run a tight crypto ship are just as
uninterested as I. What's the point of using a crypto-grade RNG on
a tinker-toy security model? If Intel writes a device driver for Linux
and Paul blesses it, I'll have some confidence in it. I'm not sure
whether it would have to be closely coupled enough to get infected with
the Copyleft Virus, of course; if so, then <everybody> can bless or
curse it.
There are lots of wonderful things that can be done with Intel hardware,
but running Microsoft software on it no longer makes my top ten list.
A "standard API" that runs only on Windows isn't the whole story.
They don't have to write a Linux driver themselves -- they could make
the interface public. But I suspect even Intel can no longer ignore
open source with impunity.
Your points (not quoted here) about Intel's reasons for doing it the
way they did are well taken, and I grant them -- modulo the
Microsoft-OS-exclusivity.
--
Jim Gillogly
Highday, 16 Halimath S.R. 1999, 04:19
12.19.6.9.4, 10 Kan 12 Mol, Fourth Lord of Night
