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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:22 ADT
Perry E. Metzger (perry@piermont.com)
Tue, 14 Jul 1998 13:08:42 -0400
"Tom Otvos" writes:
> (Sigh.) So much to learn. Thanks for taking the time to respond in such
> detail. Incidentally, the MT paper does offer that "by a simple linear
> transformation...one can easily guess the present state from a sufficiently
> large size of the output".
>
> But here is one more thought (or question really). If you combine a PRNG
> with a one-way hash, is the output still "random" and more secure?
Might I suggest that rather than using a non-cryptographic PRNG and
attempting to use hard-to-analyze kludges to make it better, why not
start with a cryptographic PRNG instead? We have several available,
and they work nicely. RC4 isn't too shabby for many purposes, and
neither is the use of an algorithm like CAST-128 in output feedback
mode.
> Or, should I just go back to being a passive observer on this list?
Nothing wrong with enthusiasm and participation, but I'd suggest
thoroughly reading two books as soon as you can:
0) Kahn's "The Codebreakers", the original unabridged version.
Reason: So you'll have some sense of how nasty this stuff gets in
the real world when lives are on the line.
1) Schneier's Applied Cryptography
Reason: So you'll understand current cryptographic practice.
Perry
The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:22 ADT