Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39766682›Full record

ArticleEntropy (Basel, Switzerland)2024

Statistical Testing of Random Number Generators and Their Improvement Using Randomness Extraction.

Cameron Foreman, Richie Yeung, Florian J Curchod

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Entropy (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Cameron ForemanQuantinuum, Partnership House, Carlisle Place, London SW1P 1BX, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7942-9472
Richie YeungQuantinuum, 17 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2NA, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1953-8305
Florian J CurchodQuantinuum, Terrington House, 13-15 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1NL, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3256-038X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Random number generators (RNGs) are notoriously challenging to build and test, especially for cryptographic applications. While statistical tests cannot definitively guarantee an RNG's output quality, they are a powerful verification tool and the only universally applicable testing method. In this work, we design, implement, and present various post-processing methods, using randomness extractors, to improve the RNG output quality and compare them through statistical testing. We begin by performing intensive tests on three RNGs-the 32-bit linear feedback shift register (LFSR), Intel's 'RDSEED,' and IDQuantique's 'Quantis'-and compare their performance. Next, we apply the different post-processing methods to each RNG and conduct further intensive testing on the processed output. To facilitate this, we introduce a comprehensive statistical testing environment, based on existing test suites, that can be parametrised for lightweight (fast) to intensive testing.

Indexed as

information-theoretic securityrandomness extractorsrandom number generationstatistical testing

Identifiers

PMID39766682
PMCPMC11675632

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.