Question: Generating random numbers is a quite common task in security software. In many cases, encryption keys are not provided by users, but are instead generated

Generating random numbers is a quite common task in security software. In many cases, encryption keys are not provided by users, but are instead generated inside the software. Their randomness is extremely important; otherwise, attackers can predict the encryption key, and thus defeat the purpose of encryption. Many developers know how to generate random numbers (e.g. for Monte Carlo simulation) from their prior experiences, so they use the similar methods to generate the random numbers for security purpose. Unfortunately, a sequence of random numbers may be good for Monte Carlo simulation, but they may be bad for encryption keys. Developers need to know how to generate secure random numbers, or they will make mistakes. Similar mistakes have been made in some well-known products, including Netscape and Kerberos.

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