Reason 5 Serial Number Generatorl
Joanes Badazz
Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) are a special case of TRNG, that generate randomness by measuring quantum processes, which are, by nature non-deterministic. The advantages are multiple, including a fundamental advantage in using quantum indeterminacy, typically faster performances by leveraging photonics and most importantly, the ability to understand and verify the origin of unpredictability, which is a core assurance for the entire cybersecurity chain.
Every time you send an email, connect to your bank account or check your medical examination, you rely on random numbers to protect the security of your online activity. Cryptography is the set of tools we use to keep us safe online, and random numbers are the foundation in which cryptography is built upon. In other words, if we could not generate unpredictable random digits, secure online communications would not be possible.
TRNGs are based on measuring a specific (random) physical process to produce random digits. Thus, the randomness of such numbers comes from the underlying physical process, which may indeed be completely unpredictable. TRNGs are the baseline for security applications.
TRNGs are hardware components and sophisticated engineering is required to build them properly. Unfortunately, current communication systems rely on weak TRNG designs, compromising security and/or performance of the communications. There are mainly two reasons for this reliance on weak TRNG designs. First, some systems do not even have a dedicated TRNG hardware component, due to cost or design choice, thus relying on generic components in the system to produce random samples (e.g., clock interrupts from the operating system).
Building reliable, fast and unpredictable TRNGs is essential for the present and future of cryptography. And Quantum technologies are now being used to produce quantum-enhanced TRNGs, and that is how do quantum number generators work.
As a result, alternative methods were used. With the availability of quantum technologies now, in particular, quantum entropy sources, the ability to produce truly unpredictable digits becomes real, and therefore quantum entropy sources can be opted in to derive enhanced security offerings than was possible before.
Current cryptographic protocols are vulnerable to emerging threats, such as attacks performed with quantum computers or AI approaches. Therefore, new security protocols and technologies are being developed currently all over the world. These new solutions are post-quantum and quantum cryptography.
In these new security protocols, the demand for more and better random numbers is increased, which also means a higher demand for quantum random number generators. Thus, considering that already today some IT systems are suffering from low entropy levels (entropy starvation) and that the situation is worse in distributed IoT scenarios, having higher performance quantum entropy sources addresses a key pain point. And this not only today but also as we transition into stronger cryptography methods.
Nefarious individuals, unethical organizations, and rogue states are exploiting weaknesses and limitations in classical cryptography and encryption to harvest vast amounts of public data. Their hope is that with the advent of powerful quantum computers in the future they will be able to decrypt the vast amounts of harvested data.
Then, we use an interferometer to convert the phase fluctuations into the amplitude domain, generating a stream of amplitude-randomized optical pulses at the output (see refs [2, 3] for two examples of interferometers that we use). Finally, a fast photodiode converts the photonic signal into the electronic domain, where standard electronics are used for turning the analog signal into the digital realm.
Quside has been researching, engineering and producing high-quality QRNGs for over a decade. Additionally, Quside has also put a major effort on scaling the technology, which can be today produced at scale using photonic integrated chips (PICs).
Our methodology defines strict quality bounds on all our QRNG devices to capture the quality of the unpredictability we produce, and the best part is that we can confidently do it in a transparent manner. This boosts trust and confidence with our customers, who do not have to rely on black boxes anymore for producing their cryptographic material.
Securing communications is undeniably one of the most important endeavors of our society today. New cryptographic standards are now emerging, to enhance even further our protection and governments are releasing their mandates to transition the security of their networks and data, as the Quantum Computing Preparedness Cybersecurity Act by the US government on July 14th, 2022.
Migrating to the new post-quantum standards with a hybrid security approach in mind is essential and the time to act is now and building a strong randomness generation foundation on which the new standards can rely upon is equally important.
Remember that no security can be achieved unless we can produce unpredictable random numbers, and the question is: are we producing them with our quantum RNGs? How do we now? Using the highest quality randomness generation technologies and monitoring them properly is where Quside can get you to the next level.
Quside with its FMC400 architecture is part of a consortium developing the first European GEO-satellite QKD system for the distribution of unbreakable encryption keys over distances larger than 100 km with high availability.
QRNGs provide several advantages to generate random numbers in applications as cryptography, including the strongest form of unpredictability, the ability to measure the quality through first principles and typically faster performance.
PhD in quantum technologies at ICFO, where he developed the quantum randomness technologies that were transferred to Quside. 10 years of experience in quantum and photonics technologies, co-inventor of multiple patent families and co-author of 15+ papers in top scientific journals. Received the award MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe.
Why such passwords instead of, say, AllThatIsGoldDoesNotGlitterNotAllWhoWanderAreLost which uses fewer characters but is much longer? The sheer length (49 characters) should also make it impossible to crack, but because it's a recognizable phrase it's also much easier to remember.
You say you want the browser to suggest a recognizable (which I take to mean coherent) phrase. Have you thought about how a browser would implement that? The browser cannot keep a long list of such phrases, because for the list to be even remotely secure, it would have to be ridiculously large. If the browser tries to use some sort of AI to create a coherent phrase on the spot, it would have to ensure that the algorithm does not have and does not develop any sort of bias. I'm not sure how hard of a task that is, but it's probably not worth the effort. Pulling the phrase from the internet would also not be acceptable to many people, for obvious reasons.
A more practical alternative would be to generate xkcd style passphrases. However, these will probably not be as memorable as you might want, specially when you have dozens of them, for all the different sites you have accounts on.
The only viable solution in the long run is to rely on password managers. And to a password manager, a complex password is a non-issue. So that's what the browsers do. Suggest complex passwords that have enough entropy to resist all sorts of password guessing attacks. And then save them in the browsers built-in password manager.
A truly randomly generated string with a broad character space to pull from provides a less guessable password, even if everyone knows that that is how it is generated. And since the password manager remembers and enters it for you, it does not need to be memorable or easy to type.
But a very similar approach has been implemented in Diceware. Initially that was just a word list containg 6**5=7776 easily pronouncable words. Next to each was a five-digit number, and you would roll a dice 5 times and look up the corresponding word. That provides about 13 bits entropy per word, so a 5 or 6 word phrase would be good enough for most applications.
Diceware never really caught on, and i think for the reasons schroeder lists in his answer. In particular, sites have mandated password complexity rules that prioritize the use of special characters over actual randomness. Most of these consider Pre$iden! a good password, but reject SymptomUndertookSubprimeSelectorNuzzleReveal, although the former is no problem for dictionary attacks, and the latter has 77 bits of entropy.
Passphrases don't satisfy complexity requirements most of the time. Most passphrases don't contain the necessary capital letter, number, and symbol. Password generators ensure there's at least one of each of those when they make a code but not when they make a phrase.
A long random password is hard to crack, but a long password from a short list is easy to crack as soon as the list is known. Note that in your example you use a pass phrase which is an actual known sentence, not even a random list of words, so the list will nearly necessarily be short, especially if you want sentences that are highly rememberable (famous quotes and the like).
If you remove the requirement for the pass phrase to actually make sense/be highly memorable, being a random combination of words from a large dictionary (like the famous correct horse battery staple), then it does indeed become hard to crack. That's the principle of diceware.
So the premise is flawed. In addition you have to face issues with sites having limited length for passwords, sites which require multiples classes of characters (lower, upper, digits, symbols), which makes most sentences unusable.
For a non native english speaker, a long english string may look dissimilar to the shorter random assortment but now they have to find a way to enter or store this longer string that is just as confusing as the alternative
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