RNG Tests for Universal Hash Functions on FPGA
Beschreibung
A use case for the Toeplitz Universal Hash Function (UHF) is as an entropy extractor, in order to sanitize the (usually biased) output of the physical source of a TRNG. Recently, some new UHFs have been discovered, which could in theory also be used for this purpose.
However, this necesitates their validation through the NIST and BSI statistical tests for random number generators.
In this student project you will adapt the new UHFs to run on an Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA and use the reference implementation of the statistical tests to compare the UHFs with each other and validate them.
Voraussetzungen
- Strong HDL skills (VHDL or Verilog)
- Basic Python Knowledge
- Knowledge of C/C++ is a plus
- Experience with Vivado is a plus
Kontakt
If you are interested in taking up this work, please send your CV and grade report to filippos.sgouros@tum.de
Betreuer:
Physical Layer Security Scheme vs Classical Cryptography
Beschreibung
Physical Layer Security (PLS) exploits channel properties, where the attacker cannot decrypt the hidden message due to too many errors on his end compared to the legitimate receiver. This achieves Information-Theoretic Security. In contrast to regular cryptography, where the security is based on the secrecy of a key, which can be computed, Information Theoretic Security promises unconditional security. That means, the message is secure EVEN with the assumption that the attacker has unlimited computational capability.
However, PLS usually rely on assumptions (degraded wiretap channel) that are not found easily in most real-life scenarios or require very rigorous validation, which makes them less practical to implement compared to regular cryptography based on secret keys.
A new Physical Layer Security scheme [1] claims to solve this problem by artificially degrading a regular wiretap channel and thus generating errors on an eavesdropper but NOT on the legitimate receiver. It uses a secret key and a Pseudo RNG for this purpose and dynamically adapts the QAM constellation of the channel.
The aim of this work is to compare the new PLS scheme to regular symmetric-key cryptography (such as AES) in terms of:
- The exact security guarantees of the PLS scheme compared to symmetric-key cryptography (Information-theoretic vs computiational)
- The use case scenarios where symmetric-key cryptography is applicable but the PLS scheme is not and vice versa
- (Optional) Identify possible weaknesses of the PLS scheme
[1] L. Mroueh and I. Ajayi, "Noisy and Dynamic-Index Partitioned Modulation for Physical Layer Security," in IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 73, no. 12, pp. 15426-15441, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.1109/TCOMM.2025.3600556.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11131228
Kontakt
Betreuer:
Universal Hash Function Use Case Scenarios
Beschreibung
Physical Layer Security exploits channel properties, where the attacker cannot decrypt the hidden message due to too many errors on his end compared to the legitimate receiver. This achieves Information-Theoretic Security. In contrast to regular cryptography, where the security is based on the secrecy of a key, which can be computed, Information Theoretic Security promises unconditional security. That means, the message is secure EVEN with the assumption that the attacker has unlimited computational capability.
A modular coding scheme achieves Information-Theoretic-Security by using Universal Hash Functions together with an Error Correction Code [1].
Universal Hash Functions are also used as Entropy Extractors in order to sanitize the output of a biased True Random Number Generator (TRNG) source [2]
The aim of this work is to try to find other use cases for Universal Hash Functions (UHF) beyond the given modular coding scheme and TRNG.
- Do a literature research, in order to find more scenarios where UHFs are or can be useful
- Describe the context and the role UHFs play or can play in all those scenarios.
[1] J. Voichtleitner, M. Wiese and H. Boche, "Comparison of universal hash functions for physical layer security in wiretap channels," 2024 IEEE 25th International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC), Lucca, Italy, 2024, pp. 191-195, doi: 10.1109/SPAWC60668.2024.10693998. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10693998
[2] Dang, Y., Gruji?, M., Yang, B., Zhu, W., Wang, H., Zhu, M., Verbauwhede, I., & Liu, L. (2025). Entropy extractor based high-throughput post-processings for True Random Number Generators. IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, 2025(4), 145-171. https://doi.org/10.46586/tches.v2025.i4.145-171