Learn how to – What Are Random Number Generators and Why Are They Important?

Learn how to – What Are Random Number Generators and Why Are They Important?.

The simplest way to generate a random number is to flip a coin. Ideally, there is no way to predict what the result may be – heads or tails should occur about 50% of the time. The problem with coins is that they are biased by nature: they have different patterns on their sides so they will favour one of the sides. Generating truly random numbers is much harder – and much more important than a coin flip.

Random numbers may not seem very important in everyday life but they are way more important than they seem: among others, they are responsible for keeping us safe online. So, true randomness is a must.

Random numbers in everyday life

Millions of people around the world are playing online casino games as we speak. The games they play are powered by random number generators that ensure their fairness. The result of every hand of blackjack and every spin on a slot machine must be completely random (as in fair), and this is ensured by random number generators (RNGs) that are constantly monitored and scrutinized.

But random numbers are present in many other areas of our everyday lives – they are used for statistics, in video games (to determine the behaviour of NPCs, for example), at cryptocurrency exchanges, in various control processes, and most importantly, they are used in cryptography, securing everything from our passwords at Facebook to our money at the bank.

Why true random numbers are important

When data is transmitted online, it is encrypted on one end using a randomly generated key – and decrypted on the other end using the same key. The key has to be a random string of characters that is impossible to predict. This is where random number generators come in: they provide the random strings used to encrypt pretty much all of our digital lives. 

If the encryption keys become predictable, they can be broken – and the data being transmitted can be intercepted. This has happened several times in the past: 

• Sony’s PlayStation 3 network was hacked in 2010 using a flawed implementation of an algorithm that used the same “random” number multiple times
• IBM’s Java SecureRandom class in the JCA generated predictable sequences that compromised application security on Android
• An attack on an RNG led to the infamous MtGox hack that ended with the stealing of 800,000 Bitcoins

True random numbers – totally unpredictable – are vital for strong encryption. And strong encryption is vital in today’s increasingly digital world.

Random number generators are what stands between our data and those trying to access it. There are several types of RNGs, ranging from pieces of software that can only generate pseudorandom data to hardware RNGs based. Today, a new form of random number generation is in the works, using quantum computers.

Quantum computers will fundamentally change cryptography. On the one hand, they will make traditional RNGs obsolete: their superior computational capabilities will carry out brute force attacks on weaker encryption in a fraction of the time needed today. On the other hand, they will be able to generate random numbers more efficiently than anything available today.