Pseudorandom Number Generators on Atmel AVR AT90USB1287 Microcontrollers

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide exhaustive details of my Computer Security Architecture project this spring 2008 semester. Ultimately, the goal has been to prepare a document that an undergraduate student can read to increase his/her comprehension of the Atmel AVR AT90USB1287 microcontroller and its hardware components, the Assembler programming language, random number generation, pseudorandom number generation, and testing methods to determine levels of randomness. This report outlines how to program a random number generator (RNG) on the AT90USB1287 using the on‐board thermometer, as well as two pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) on the AT90USB1287. One of the PRNGs is a Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) and is designated as the “weak” PRNG. The other PRNG is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm and is designated as the “strong” PRNG algorithm. After programming the RNG, weak PRNG, and strong PRNG on the AT90USB1287, this report details the results of randomness tests offered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on both PRNG algorithms. The purpose of this is to demonstrate specifically what it means to have a cryptographically secure PRNG algorithm.