Comments on Cryptographic Entropy Measurement

Anna Johnston

Paper 2019/1263

Comments on Cryptographic Entropy Measurement

Anna Johnston

Abstract

Random data and the entropy contained within is a critical component of information security. Minimum entropy is the base measurement defined by NIST and what many of their entropy tests are based on. However minimum entropy does not satisfy the basic requirements for an entropy measurement in either Shannon's original document or in Renyi's generalization of entropy . This document suggests a different way forward with a reclassification of entropy into two classes. With this differentiation, measurement tools are simplified and allow for more accurate assessments of entropy.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Publication info: Preprint. MINOR revision.
Contact author(s): amj @ juniper net
History: 2019-11-05: received
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2019/1263
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2019/1263,
      author = {Anna Johnston},
      title = {Comments on Cryptographic Entropy Measurement},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2019/1263},
      year = {2019},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2019/1263}
}