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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:15 ADT
Jim Gillogly (jim@mentat.com)
Fri, 10 Jul 98 09:42:18 PDT
> From: "Tom Otvos" <tomo@everyware.com>
> I am usually a passive observer on this fascinating list, but this PRNG
> raises a question for me. If this RNG has an "astronomical period"
> (according to the authors), and if a one-time pad is the theoretical nirvana
> of encryption, then what is the downside of using something like the Twister
> as input to an OTP-based encryption scheme?
Tom -
Having a large period is only one of the criteria needed for
a cryptographically secure PRNG. As a reductio ad absurdum,
consider a 256-bit counter running from your randomly-chosen
256-bit key on up. The period is astronomical, but decryption
is trivial. If the generator doesn't have much internal state
one should eye it with suspicion... for cryptographic purososes.
Jim Gillogly
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:15 ADT