You are viewing this page in an unauthorized frame window. This is a potential security issue, you are being redirected to https://csrc.nist.gov . An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Here’s how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Search Search CSRC MENU Search Search Projects Publications Expand or Collapse Drafts for Public Comment All Public Drafts Final Pubs FIPS (standards) Special Publications (SP s ) IR (interagency/internal reports) CSWP (cybersecurity white papers) ITL Bulletins Project Descriptions Journal Articles Conference Papers Books Topics Expand or Collapse Security & Privacy Applications Technologies Sectors Laws & Regulations Activities & Products News & Updates Events Glossary About CSRC Expand or Collapse Computer Security Division Cryptographic Technology Software Security Group Hardware Security Group Security Engineering and Risk Management Applied Cybersecurity Division Cybersecurity and Privacy Applications National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Contact Us Information Technology Laboratory Computer Security Resource Center Publications NIST SP 800-90B Recommendation for the Entropy Sources Used for Random Bit Generation Share to Facebook Share to X Share to LinkedIn Share ia Email Documentation Topics Date Published: January 2018 Planning Note ( 05/29/2025 ): Two errata have been identified, which will be corrected in a future update/revision of this publication. For details, see this errata (potential updates) file . Author(s) Meltem Sönmez Turan (NIST) , Elaine Barker (NIST) , John Kelsey (NIST) , Kerry McKay (NIST) , Mary Baish (NSA) , Michael Boyle (NSA) Abstract This Recommendation specifies the design principles and requirements for the entropy sources used by Random Bit Generators, and the tests for the validation of entropy sources. These entropy sources are intended to be combined with Deterministic Random Bit Generator mechanisms that are specified in SP 800-90A to construct Random Bit Generators, as specified in SP 800-90C. This Recommendation specifies the design principles and requirements for the entropy sources used by Random Bit Generators, and the tests for the validation of entropy sources. These entropy sources are intended to be combined with Deterministic Random Bit Generator mechanisms that are specified in... See full abstract This Recommendation specifies the design principles and requirements for the entropy sources used by Random Bit Generators, and the tests for the validation of entropy sources. These entropy sources are intended to be combined with Deterministic Random Bit Generator mechanisms that are specified in SP 800-90A to construct Random Bit Generators, as specified in SP 800-90C. Hide full abstract Keywords entropy source ; health testing ; min-entropy ; noise source ; predictors ; Conditioning functions ; random number generators Control Families System and Communications Protection Documentation Publication: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-90B Download URL Errata (potential updates) (pdf) Supplemental Material: 2nd Draft SP 800-90B (pdf) Comments received on 2nd Draft (pdf) Summary of Changes (from 2nd Draft to Final) (pdf) Markup of Changes (from 2nd Draft to Final) (pdf) Publication Parts: SP 800-90A Rev. 1 SP 800-90C Related NIST Publications: Other Document History: 01/10/18: SP 800-90B (Final) Topics Security and Privacy random number generation HEADQUARTERS 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 X (link is external) facebook (link is external) linkedin (link is external) instagram (link is external) youtube (link is external) rss govdelivery (link is external) Want updates about CSRC and our publications? Subscribe Contact Us | Our Other Offices Send inquiries to [email protected] Site Privacy Accessibility Privacy Program Copyrights Vulnerability Disclosure No Fear Act Policy FOIA Environmental Policy Scientific Integrity Information Quality Standards Commerce.gov Science.gov USA.gov Vote.gov