4 ms·
Yep. As djb pointed out, PGP is predicated on the idea that you generate a small amount of secure entropy once, and then keep that entropy safe indefinitely. An
by nemo1618 6y ago
Yep. As djb pointed out, PGP is predicated on the idea that you generate a small amount of secure entropy once, and then keep that entropy safe indefinitely. And a good CSPRNG can be seeded with 32 bytes of entropy and generate essentially infinite secure output.
Still, it would be nice to remove the CSPRNG from the equation entirely, and just read from the stream of "pure"/"true" randomness directly. On the other hand, there are obvious downsides to getting your entropy from a single source... I guess it comes down to a simple question: which do you trust more, your hardware or your software?
- xyzzyz 6y agoYeah, I’d rather trust well understood, deterministic CSPRNGs than opaque hardware that might just have a non-obvious defect.
- remus 6y agoOn the other hand, if you are relying on software you're working higher up the stack so there's more room for bugs to creep in. Or put another way, that software is running on hardware that might have a non-obvious defect. Maybe it's better to just cut out the middleman?
- 317070 6y agoJust xor them together. As long as they are uncorrelated, you will get the best of both worlds.
- vlovich123 6y agoHow did you choose to seed your CSPRNG initially?