True Random Number Generator (TRNG): IISc develops device to improve data security

What is the News?

A team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed a true random number generator (TRNG). This can improve data encryption and provide improved security for sensitive digital data such as credit card details, passwords and other personal information.

What is a True Random Number Generator (TRNG)?

Everything a person does on the internet is encrypted for security. The strength of this encryption depends on the quality of random number generation.

Encrypted information can be decoded only by authorised users who have access to a cryptographic ‘key’. But the key needs to be unpredictable and, therefore, randomly generated to resist hacking.

Cryptographic keys are typically generated in computers using pseudorandom number generators, which rely on mathematical formulae or pre-programmed tables to produce numbers that appear random but are not.

In contrast, a TRNG device extracts random numbers from inherently random physical processes, making it more secure.

How does IISC’s True Random Number Generator (TRNG) function?

In IISc’s TRNG device, random numbers are generated using the random motion of electrons. The random motion of electrons consists of an artificial electron trap constructed by stacking atomically-thin layers of materials like black phosphorus and graphene.

The current measured from the device increases when an electron is trapped and decreases when it is released.

Since electrons move in and out of the trap in a random manner, the measured current also changes randomly. The timing of this change determines the generated random number.

What is the significance of IISC’s TRNG?

Standard tests for cryptographic applications are designed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Min-entropy is a parameter used to measure the performance of TRNGs. Its value ranges from 0 (completely predictable) to 1 (completely random).

IISC’s TRNG showed a record-high min-entropy of 0.98, a significant improvement over previously reported values, which were around 0.89. Further, this TRNG is also more compact than its bulkier counterparts.

Source: The post is based on the article “IISc develops device to improve data security” published in The Hindu on 28th May 2022.