Cyber Security and Fibonacci: Random Numbers and Hashing
The Fibonacci sequence — also known as the Golden Ratio — is one of the most fundamental characteristics of the Universe. It is created by starting at 0 and 1, and where the next value in the sequence is the addition of the previous two values. Thus we get 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on. Leonardo Fibonacci came up with the sequence when he observed the growth of a rabbit population over the period of a year, but can be seen within many things in nature, including flower petals, pine cones, tree branches, shells, and the shape of galaxies:
In general, a Fibonacci sequence is defined by:
Sₙ=Sₙ₋₁+Sₙ₋₂
and where the current term is the sum of the two previous values. For example, if we start at zero and one, we end up with the sequence of:
0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55...Fibonacci and Random Numbers: Lagged Fibonacci Generator
The problem we have in computer security is to generate random numbers that cannot be predicted, as we will often generate encryption keys for our tunnelled connections and for encrypted…
