US Customers: anyone helping me?

[Scott Bennett]

     On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 10:15:16 +0100 Thomas.Hluchnik at netcologne.de wrote:
>Am Dienstag 08 Dezember 2009 schrieb John Case:
>>=20
>> We had a big long discussion about hardware devices a few months ago:
>>=20
>> You may find it useful to read that entire thread.
>>=20
>> In short: the Sun SCA-1000 does not perform AES at all, and will not help=
>=20
>> you with Tor at all.
>
>Thanks, I was reading the whole thread and it was very interesting to me. I=
> know that the Sun SCA-1000 does NOT encrypt AES, but there is something th=
>at was not discussed in the thread: Random Devices.
>
>Thats what I found in a Sun doc about the SCA-1000:
>
># Hardware Random Numbers: True random number generation of up to 125 Kbps
>
>Without such a board a system creates "only" pseudo random numbers. Right n=
>ow I am very interested in questions regarding crypto and randomness. I wan=
>ted first check some more about this, then opening a discussion thread here=
> about the quality of tor keys and PRNG versus hardware based randomness. T=
>hats the main reason why I am interested in that card.
>
     Uh...hmmm...on what basis does Sun claim generation of "true" random
numbers?  Unless it includes a sample of some radioisotope and a timestamping
particle detector, why would hardware/firmware RNG output be any less
pseudo-random than software RNG output would?


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
**********************************************************************
* Internet:       bennett at cs.niu.edu                              *
*--------------------------------------------------------------------*
* "A well regulated and disciplined militia, is at all times a good  *
* objection to the introduction of that bane of all free governments *
* -- a standing army."                                               *
*    -- Gov. John Hancock, New York Journal, 28 January 1790         *
**********************************************************************
***********************************************************************
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to majordomo at torproject.org with
unsubscribe or-talk    in the body. http://archives.seul.org/or/talk/