[117722] in Cypherpunks
hw vs sw, intel rng mystery
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Thu Sep 9 12:55:06 1999
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 18:35:11 +0200 (CEST)
Message-Id: <199909091635.SAA02608@mail.replay.com>
From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Reply-To: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
At 08:17 AM 9/9/99 -0500, Sean Roach wrote:
>How much does the ability to process firmware affect the number of
>transistors needed for a chip?
The differences are insignificant on a monster
like the PIII.
How hard would it be to use the
>existing capacity of the chip to access the RNG?
Coupla multiplexors and some control logic... a
"select raw bitstream" modifier for their read-rng instruction...
This is the "what are they hiding" part... the kT
dependence of their noise source? Did they think
it wasn't worth the insignificant number of gates
it would take to add this? That reading raw bits would hog
the cpu too much for it to be useful?
>How would
>implementing whitening in microcode affect price? Could we trust the
>whitening more if it were "in hardware" than in a driver?
Insignificant differences in cost.
If some function is implemented in metal and poly, packaged
in epoxy, soldered in place, and carried on the person,
its pretty tough to subvert without being noticed.
If some function is code in alterable memory, you have
to be a lot more careful about who you let play with
it and who you connect it to.
.....
Funny, just a few months ago this would have been
mu-metal helmet stuff.
God bless microsoft,
And God bless the l0pht,
God bless Dorothy
And God bless Mister Freeh
[sung to an Alanis Morrisette tune..]
