Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
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Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
1–10 of 12 posts
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#2Nothing new here, move along.
This was first done by SGI ages ago...
joe
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#3So they created a giant side-channel by putting their entropy-source next to a public window?
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#4Nothing new here, move along. This was first done by SGI ages ago... joe
Article+Cloudflare acknowledges this (although they credit Sun not SGI)
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#5So they created a giant side-channel by putting their entropy-source next to a public window?
don't forget the room heating. I'm sure a wall of of 25-100w incandescents can get pretty toasty.
very green.
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#6So they created a giant side-channel by putting their entropy-source next to a public window?
Pretty sure an attacker would have to observe the array from the same point of perspective as the camera to mount a successful side channel attack.
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#7Is this a perfect rng at the current state of technology? If not, why and are there currently perfect ones. What would an rng require to be perfect?
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#8I'm now looking forward to a future article from security researchers:
"Prediction of a random stream from a lava lamp model constructed from entropic data inferred from encrypted packets"
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#9So they created a giant side-channel by putting their entropy-source next to a public window?
I'm guessing they use this alongside CSPRNGs. Would make sense given the theorem that states any random number XORed with even highly-ordered input maintains its entropy.
Re: Cloudflare uses lava lamps as a random number generator
#10I would use plasma spheres (e.g. [0], but there are lots of them out there). A single plasma sphere generates a visual display that changes much faster and is much less predictable moment-to-moment than a lava lamp -- so you wouldn't need nearly so many of them -- and uses much less power into the bargain.
[0] https://www.scientificsonline.com/product/nebula-plasma-ball