Generating authentication keys requires randomness. To ensure this randomness, sometimes companies come up with very creative ways. For example, Cloudflare uses lava lamps to create unpredictable combinations then converts them to authentication keys. Now, more ways to provide unpredictable randomness are being explored.
Nature’s gift of randomness
Researchers of « South Korea Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology » have managed to use natural silk fibers to create the randomness needed for authentication key generation. Natural silk comes from domesticated silkworms. The new system takes advantage of the light diffraction through micro holes in natural silk and uses it to generate a digital key for security solutions. As expected, the microholes and the light diffractions are completely unpredictable, making the system perfect for its purpose.
Professor Young Ming Song, senior author at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology said:
“When a beam of light hits the disordered silk fibers of an optimal density, it causes light diffraction. The nanostructures in individual microfibers enhance the contrast of light intensity with respect to the background. The diffracted light is then captured by an image sensor. Since the pattern of the microholes is naturally-made, it is unique, giving rise to a unique pattern of light.”
The institute researchers have also mentioned that such a system can only be broken 5 x 10^41 years with brute force. This is such a long period that makes the system practically unbreakable, ensuring security.