[Cryptech Tech] FIPS 140-2 test program

[Joachim Strömbergson]

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Aloha!

Benedikt Stockebrand wrote:
> Yes, I do.  You just want to be aware that it marks about 800ppm of
> its input as "failures", which not only makes you jump when you first
> run it on anything, but also means it skews whatever it lets through
> when used as a filter to seed the Linux kernel CSPRNG.
> 
> Anyway, if you use it, expect about these failure rates:
> 
> Total:           800ppm Monobit:         100ppm Poker:
> 100ppm Runs:            300ppm Long run:        300ppm Continuous
> run:  too rare to give any reliable numbers

Great info, thanks!


> Generally speaking, rngtest is good to get a quick indication if 
> something is *really* going wrong, but for a more definite result I 
> invariably use dieharder (options "-g 201 -f random.data.file -Y 1 -s
> 1 -k 2 -a").

Yes, Dieharder is what I use too. And ent. But we really need good test
suites and test programs implementing them (see another mail on my sorry
efforts at collecting requirements, tests and code) - for the entropy
sources as well as the stages through the RNG chain and for the CSPRNG
output.


> Aside from that, FIPS140-2 in itself is somewhat dubious---they
> haven't explained the rationale for the tests, but I traced them back
> at least to Knuth's Art of Computer Programming, and they were
> originally to test general purpose PRNGs.  Neither is there any
> explanation for the thresholds defined, and they have removed the
> tests entirely from the -3 draft, again without any explanation that
> I know of.

OT: I actually ponied up and payed for the complete Art of Computer
Programming package (all four books) as summer reading.

FIPS 140-2 is important because it is what is used for Cryptech-like
things and will be asked about. But we should not constrain us to FIPS
140-2 (and AIS31 etc for that matter). The more complete we can be and
show good results to anybodys favourite test/test suite the better. We
therefore need to know about them and use them all. imho.

- -- 
Med vänlig hälsning, Yours

Joachim Strömbergson - Alltid i harmonisk svängning.
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 Joachim Strömbergson          Secworks AB          joachim at secworks.se
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