Via puts RNGs on new processors

David Wagner daw at mozart.cs.berkeley.edu
Wed Apr 9 11:21:21 EDT 2003


Ian Grigg  wrote:
>My world view would be that there is no such
>thing as an acceptable off-the-shelf RNG.

Why not?  You rely on an off-the-shelf CPU, don't you?
The CPU must be trusted just as much as the RNG.

>If one is relying on some commercially acceptable
>rating, then one has also to ensure that the
>entire distribution chain - how you got that
>chip - is also safe.  If there are such things
>as "good" Via chips alongside "bad" Via chips,
>how do we know that a bad chip wasn't substituted
>in at the last moment?

Do you worry about this for your CPU?  If not, why should
the RNG component of your CPU be any different?

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