Random number generation in hardware reconfigurable wireless sensor nodes

Abstract

In order to achieve a greater reliability, sensor nodes working with limited resources has some drawbacks when it comes to ensure secure communication between sensor nodes. Because in theory there is no need to hide the algorithm as long as the cryptographic keys are safe, the more random a key is the harder for an attacker is to find it. Although hardware reprogrammable platforms consume more energy than microcontrollers, they prove to have considerable advantages when implementing RNG's regarding the speed and the possibility of using bitwise operations, thus being more versatile. In this paper, a Filed Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) design who use data collected from different on board sensors to generate cryptographic keys. Randomness analysis of the generated data is then performed using National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) methodology in order to validate the proposed design.