Software cryptography is coming into wider use. Systems like
Kerberos, PEM, PGP, etc. are maturing and becoming a part of the network landscape [PEM]. These systems provide substantial protection against snooping and spoofing. However, there is a potential flaw. At the heart of all cryptographic systems is the generation of secret, unguessable (i.e., random) numbers.
For the present, the lack of generally available facilities for
generating such unpredictable numbers is an open wound in the design of cryptographic software.
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