April 7-10, 2025 | Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Canada

Certifying Quantum-Enhanced Entropy Sources: Navigating SP 800-90B With Novel Technology (N23b)

Certifying Quantum-Enhanced Entropy Sources: Navigating SP 800-90B With Novel Technology (N23b)

The certification of entropy sources under SP 800-90B presents challenges when incorporating quantum-derived randomness. The standard requires entropy contributions from a single noise source and mandates vetted conditioning components for adding supplemental data. These requirements pose unique challenges for quantum-based entropy sources.

This talk explores the process of certifying an entropy source leveraging quantum effects to generate provable randomness. Topics include integrating quantum-enhanced seeds and randomness extractors within the SP 800-90B framework, addressing classification challenges, and adapting to certification requirements. The talk also highlights limitations in the standard, such as truncation and seed classification, and offers insights for future revisions.