[ILUG] serious Debian/Ubuntu security hole found

[paul at clubi.ie]

On Fri, 16 May 2008, Timothy Murphy wrote:

> This is pure wishful thinking. You are saying that if _you_ cannot 
> work out what the next number is, because the system is so 
> complicated, then the sequence must be random.

> You are much, much better off with a mathematical function f(n) mod 
> m which people have studied, and found no patterns in the output.

So an RNG based on study and understanding of the physical world is 
"wishful thinking", but based on periodic functions, that's fine. 
(RANDU?).

This sounds like domain snobbery to me. ;)

regards,
-- 
Paul Jakma	paul at clubi.ie	paul at jakma.org	Key ID: 64A2FF6A
Fortune:
That that is is that that is not is not.