English

Exact Bias of Linear TRNG Correctors -- Spectral Approach

Cryptography and Security 2026-05-22 v2 Information Theory math.IT

Abstract

Using Fourier analysis, this paper establishes near-optimal security bounds for linear correctors commonly used in True Random Number Generators (TRNGs), expressed through code weight enumerators and input bias parameters. We provide the first near-tight bias characterization in total variation, by interpolating between optimal \ell_\infty and 2\ell_2 norm results. Our bounds improve security assessments by an order of magnitude over previously known (overly conservative) estimates. Across \sim 20,000 codes, we examine fundamental trade-offs between compression efficiency, cryptographic security, and hardware complexity. Achieving 80-bit security with 10\% input bias typically requires sacrificing more than 50\% of the code rate and incurs increased hardware cost. This quantifies the inherent cost of randomness extraction in hardware TRNG implementations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.26393,
  title  = {Exact Bias of Linear TRNG Correctors -- Spectral Approach},
  author = {Maciej Skorski and Francisco-Javier Soto and Onur Günlü},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.26393},
  year   = {2026}
}