Random Seeding LFSR-Based TRNG for Hardware Security Applications

Abstract

Rapid developments in the field of cryptography and hardware security have increased the need for random number generators which are not only of low-complexity but are also secure to the point of being undeterminable. A random number generator is a part of most security systems, so it should be simple and area efficient. Many modern-day pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) make use of linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs). Though these PRNGs are of low complexity, they fall short when it comes to being secure since they are not truly random in nature. Thus, in this chapter we propose a random seeding LFSR-based truly random number generator (TRNG) which is not only of low complexity, like the aforementioned PRNGs, but is also ‘truly random’ in nature. Our proposed design generates an n-bit truly random number sequence that can be used for a variety of hardware security based applications. Based on our proposed n-bit TRNG design, we illustrate an example which generates 16-bit truly random sequences, and a detailed analysis is shown based on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tests to highlight its randomness.