---
title: "Linux's Random Number Generator - Not That Great?"
url: "https://osherove.com/blog/2006/5/8/linuxs-random-number-generator-not-that-great.md"
canonical: "https://osherove.com/blog/2006/5/8/linuxs-random-number-generator-not-that-great.html"
published: "2006-05-08T02:06:00"
updated: "2006-05-08T02:06:00"
tags: []
author: "Roy Osherove"
description: "Benny Pinkas of the Haifa University in Israel ( http://www.pinkas.net/ ), claims that after reverse engineering the Linux Kern's Random Number Generator, he was able to come to some alarming conclusions. Mainly, that…"
usage: "Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page)."
license: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
---

# Linux's Random Number Generator - Not That Great?

By Roy Osherove May 8, 2006

**Historical article** · Originally published May 8, 2006; technical details may be outdated.

Benny Pinkas of the Haifa University in Israel([http://www.pinkas.net/](http://www.pinkas.net/) ), claims that after reverse engineering the Linux Kern's Random Number Generator, he was able to come to some alarming conclusions. Mainly, that the Random Number Generation Engine used in Linux, which is used anywhere from creating secure keys for the net, user passwords etc. is not that secure since it is too predictable.

He recommends that OS Developers take a long hard look at the quality of code for sensitive components, so that this will not happen again.

Link to the Hebrew version of the announcement here:

[http://www.pc.co.il/\_DailyMaily/ItemClean.asp?ArticleID=4735&Vol=134&SearchParam=&CategoryID=72](http://www.pc.co.il/_DailyMaily/ItemClean.asp?ArticleID=4735&Vol=134&SearchParam=&CategoryID=72)

Link to the PDF Document of his study (To appear in the 2006 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland Conference), May 21-24, 2006)

\[ PDF in English\] : [http://www.pinkas.net/PAPERS/gpr06.pdf](http://www.pinkas.net/PAPERS/gpr06.pdf)


---

## About the author

**Roy Osherove**: Senior Solutions Architect at AWS working on AI for production and AI-driven development; author of The Art of Unit Testing and Elastic Leadership, with about 20 years of consulting and training on unit testing, TDD, team leadership and continuous delivery.

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### License

Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page). License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/