An Energy Efficient Run-Time Security Monitor for True Random Number Generators
Ahmad Al Khas, İhsan Çiçek · 2019
True random number generators (TRNGs) are the most important building blocks of cryptographic systems. They generate random numbers for use in session keys, security protocols, and countermeasures. The statistical quality of the continuously generated random bits is highly crucial in order to guarantee the security of a cryptographic system. The mathematical, information-theoretic (entropy) properties aside, the statistical properties of the output bitstream generated by a TRNG are usually monitored against failures or physical attacks. Unfortunately, continuous monitoring of the output bitstream increases the power consumption, which is undesirable for light-weight cryptographic systems. In this paper, we present a hardware (in terms of area), and energy efficient implementation of a run-time operating security monitor for TRNGs which is very suitable for light-weight cryptographic systems.