Toshiba’s New Random Number Generator
Toshiba has recently unveiled a new IC which is capable of generating 2 megabits/second of random bits. The IC utilizes analog noise generated by electrons trapped on a silicon nitride (SiN) layer of a transistor. The electrons randomly are bound and released from this SiN layer at a very high rate enabling the generation of 2Mb/s of random bits. This analog value is then fed to an analog-digital converter and the resulting output is the random number. Since this IC is so small it can be easily incorporated into even portable devices enhancing the strength of encryption available in portable devices.
Original article here
Comment by Nick Erkert
February 10, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
It seems like you could influence the noise of a device like this by pointing a high powered antenna at the IC and saturating the amplifier. Depending on how the rest of the IC works you may just get a steady stream of 1s out of it.
Comment by Trip Volpe
February 10, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
Heh, there’s always a hole somewhere, it seems. Though I expect that an unintended consequence of the antenna might be that the entire system fails to function, which, incidentally, is a vulnerability of most unshielded electronics.
Shielding the IC would be one obvious solution in a situation where it is conceivable for an attacker to come into physical proximity with the device, but this would of course increase cost. Attempting to detect a saturation condition might be another option, though since unpredictability is a property of “true” random numbers, this option seems suspect.