A Novel Approach for Pseudo-Random Seed Generation

Abstract

Random sequences play an important role in all aspects of Cryptography. All cryptographic systems and protocols are based on secrets and can only be as strong as the random sequence generators they use to generate those secrets. The best cryptographic scheme becomes insecure once its secrets can be predicted or determined. In modern cryptography random sequences are used (1) to generate session keys and initialization vectors for symmetric block ciphers, (2) to generate random values for various digital signature schemes such as DSA and (3) to produce seeds which are used in math routines to get values such as large prime numbers for RSA and also in security protocols. This paper presents the design of RAMG, a pseudo-random seed generator, using a secure symmetric block cipher algorithm. We describe the design principles used for the development of the generator as well as its principal components. We also discuss the idea of using it as a pseudo-random bit generator (DRBG).