Alex Bligh - linux-kernel wrote:
>
> > The device get's powerd up at a random time for the attacker.
> > That's entierly sufficient if you assume that your checksum function
> > f(i) hat the property that there is no function g, where we have
> > f(i+1)=g(f(i)), where g has a polynomial order over the time domain.
> > i is unknown for the attacker.
>
> So, your argument is that there is no point in all this
> entropy collection anyway. So if everything is hunky dory,
> why have /dev/random block under such a circumstance?
You are entierly right.
The primary reson of invention of /dev/random was the need
for a bit of salt to the initial packet sequence number inside
the networking code in linux. And for this purspose the
whole /dev/*random stuff is INDEED a gratitious overdesign.
For anything else crypto related it just doesn't cut the corner.
If you look at the archives I have objected it strongly in the history.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Aug 23 2001 - 21:00:35 EST