Pseudorandomness
Pseudorandomness is a process which has a result that seems to be random. Even if the result seems to be random, the process can be predicted.[1]
This near random process is important to online security.[2] Because the result can be predicted, it is important that the "seed,"(or first input) and the process are kept hidden.[3]
History
[change | change source]The creation of random numbers has many uses, mostly in statistics, and simulations. Before computers, researchers that needed random numbers would get them from dice, cards, roulette wheels,[4] etc, or by random number tables.
The first attempt to crate a large amount of random numbers was in 1927. This was when Cambridge University Press put out a list of 41,600 numbers made by L.H.C. Tippett. In 1947, the RAND Corporation created random numbers by simulating a roulette wheel using a computer.[4] The results were published in 1955 with the title of, "A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates".
Unpredictability as "near random"
[change | change source]By using radioactive substances with radioactive decay, or by tuning a radio between stations, near random numbers can be created for short amounts of time.[1] The time needed to get these numbers led to a change. This was using these generated numbers as a "seed" instead of a result. The less numbers created by this process, the more random the result would seem. Another compromise is to combine the timings between keystrokes of multiple people.[5]
People's actions have been proven to be useful for Multi-factor authentication.[6] Also, studies have shown that pseudo random numbers can sometimes be predicted. This becomes more difficult when in small amounts.
In computational complexity
[change | change source]In theoretical computer science, a distribution (set of numbers) is considered to be pseudorandom if it is similar enough to other sets. This idea of pseudorandomness is studied and has importance in cryptography.
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 George Johnson (June 12, 2001). "Connoisseurs of Chaos Offer A Valuable Product: Randomness". The New York Times.
- ↑ "The inherent flaws of Proof-of-Stake". Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
- ↑ Mark Ward (August 9, 2015). "Web's random numbers are too weak, researchers warn". BBC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "A Million Random Digits". RAND Corporation. January 2001. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
- ↑ Jonathan Knudson (January 1998). "Javatalk: Horseshoes, hand grenades and random numbers". Sun Server. pp. 16–17.
- ↑ Eze Vidra (November 6, 2007). "Science Fiction? ClassifEye's Biometric Authentication for Cell Phones".
Further reading
[change | change source]- Donald E. Knuth (1997) The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2: Seminumerical Algorithms (3rd edition). Addison-Wesley Professional, ISBN 0-201-89684-2
- Oded Goldreich. (2008) Computational Complexity: a conceptual perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88473-0. (Limited preview at Google Books)
- Vadhan, S. P. (2012). "Pseudorandomness". Foundations and Trends in Theoretical Computer Science. 7 (1–3): 1–336. doi:10.1561/0400000010.