Dual_EC_DRBG
A pseudorandom number generator recommended by NIST in 2006 that relies on elliptic curve point operations. In 2013, documents leaked by Edward Snowden indicated it may have contained an NSA backdoor that could be used to predict random number output, after which it was widely abandoned.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Dual_EC_DRBG is a pseudorandom number generator recommended by NIST in 2006, which internally relies on point operations on two specific elliptic curves.
Documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 showed that the Dual_EC_DRBG algorithm may have been backdoored by the NSA: as long as one possesses a certain secret constant, one can reverse-derive the internal state from a given output and thereby predict subsequent random numbers.
After the Dual_EC_DRBG backdoor incident was exposed, the algorithm was widely abandoned.
The NIST curve was once suspected of containing an NSA-planted backdoor, but after the Dual_EC_DRBG incident, such concerns have focused mainly on that random number generator rather than on the curve itself.
All Facts (4)
Dual_EC_DRBG is a pseudorandom number generator recommended by NIST in 2006, which internally relies on point operations on two specific elliptic curves.
50%UnverifiedDocuments leaked by Snowden in 2013 showed that the Dual_EC_DRBG algorithm may have been backdoored by the NSA: as long as one possesses a certain secret constant, one can reverse-derive the internal state from a given output and thereby predict subsequent random numbers.
50%UnverifiedThe NIST curve was once suspected of containing an NSA-planted backdoor, but after the Dual_EC_DRBG incident, such concerns have focused mainly on that random number generator rather than on the curve itself.
50%UnverifiedAfter the Dual_EC_DRBG backdoor incident was exposed, the algorithm was widely abandoned.
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