TESTING PSEUDORANDOM NUMBER SENSORS BUILT IN SMART CARDS

Abstract

This article explores randomness and how general purpose computers generate it. It also discusses the security requirements that a pseudo-random number generator must satisfy for use in cryptographic applications. And also special attention is paid to the known and new methods of testing random bit sequences. Analyzing the effectiveness of pseudo-random sequence generators is a pressing problem for smart cards when using more advanced methods of encryption and information protection. The available methods show low flexibility and versatility in the means of finding hidden patterns in data. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use algorithms based on multivariate statistics. These algorithms combine all the advantages of statistical methods and are the only alternative for analyzing short and medium-length sequences. The paper considers the scheme of operation of pseudo-random number generators in limited devices. The main requirements for modern smart cards are highlighted. A criterion for checking the randomness of bit sequences of small length (up to 100 bits) is proposed. This approach is appropriate for testing a lightweight pseudo-random number generator in devices with certain resource constraints. The paper presents the compatible distributions of the number of 2-strings and the number of 3-strings of a fixed form of a random bit sequence, which make it possible to carry out a statistical analysis of local sections of this sequence. A possible application of the obtained formulas can be to test the hypothesis of the randomness of the arrangement of zeros and ones in a (0, 1) -sequence of finite length. Research has shown that even with limited resources and a limited entropy environment like a smart card, good quality pseudo-random sequences can be created that can satisfy all the requirements for pseudo-random number generators, even those used for general purpose computers. In the work, the set of statistical tests was expanded to include other tests that are not included in the statistical set of NIST tests, and to analyze the work of the proposed algorithms. The paper presents algorithms for testing a pseudo-random sequence using multivariate statistics to illustrate their possible application in a smart card environment.