dual_ec_drbg

A cryptographically flawed pseudo random number generator is reportedly being added to the upcoming Windows Vista Service Pack 1, raising concerns about a new random-number standard that includes a slow, badly designed algorithm containing a ... backdoor for the National Security Agency (NSA). Cryptographers Dan Shumow and Niels Ferguson wrote a yp.to (PDF) that revealed flaws in Dual_EC_DRBG standard at the Crypto 2007 conference this past August. Dual_EC_DRBG is one of four approved random number generators that's three times slower than the others. The design is based on the mathematics of ... (view more)

In a recent article written by Bruce Schneier, noted cryptographer from e-media mag Wired.com, the author examines the research (PDF) of security experts Niels Ferguson and Dan Shumow, presenters at the CRYPTO 2007 conference this past August. ... Ferguson and Shumow suggest that an algorithm for generating random numbers included in an official standard document (PDF) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) contains a weakness that can only be described as a backdoor . Earlier this year the U.S. government released a new official standard for random-number generators that ... (view more)