Explore the Real-World Challenges of Entropy Source Validation
Join SafeLogic at FIPS ‘n’ Chips 2026 in Austin, Texas. Organized by the Crypto-V Alliance, the conference brings together experts from government, industry, academia, testing laboratories, and certification bodies to explore the technologies, standards, and processes behind trusted cryptographic modules.
Entropy is foundational to cryptographic security—but validating an entropy source can become significantly more complex when the underlying noise source falls outside conventional microelectronic designs.
SafeLogic Director of Engineering Jake Maynard will join experts from Real Random, NVLAP, and the University of Tampa to share lessons learned from validating a macro-scale electromechanical entropy source under NIST SP 800-90B, including what matters for validation, how centralized entropy can be delivered to consuming endpoints, and how entropy ultimately reaches applications through widely used cryptographic libraries.
Featured Session:
Rolling The Dice: Entropy Source Validation Lessons from a Macro-Scale Electromechanical Noise Source
- Speaker: Jake Maynard, Director of Engineering, SafeLogic, with Doug Hill, Tim Hall, and Volodymyr Zabolotnyi
- Date & Time: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 11:10am – 11:40am
- Location: Google Sail Tower – Austin Community Space
Session Overview
Most physical entropy sources submitted for validation under NIST SP 800-90B rely on a relatively small family of microelectronic noise mechanisms. This session examines a substantially different approach: a macro-scale electromechanical noise source.
Jake and his fellow speakers will share practical lessons from the validation process, including which noise-source characteristics matter for validation, how raw noise samples are produced and evaluated, and what changes when entropy is centrally generated and delivered to consuming systems as a metered service.
The session will also explore a critical deployment consideration: applications typically consume entropy through cryptographic libraries rather than directly from the entropy source. The speakers will examine how entropy integrates into widely used open-source cryptographic stacks and the assumptions embedded in their seeding paths.
Key Takeaways
- Beyond Conventional Entropy Sources: What teams can learn from validating a noise mechanism outside the typical microelectronic model.
- SP 800-90B Validation: Which properties of an entropy source matter most when moving from design to validation.
- Centralized Entropy Delivery: Considerations when delivering entropy from a centralized source to consuming endpoints.
- Cryptographic Library Integration: How entropy moves from its source into real applications through cryptographic libraries and their seeding mechanisms.
Who Should Attend
This session is especially relevant for professionals responsible for cryptographic engineering, entropy, and FIPS validation, including:
- Cryptographic and Security Engineers
- Software and Product Security Teams
- FIPS 140-3 and CMVP Practitioners
- Entropy Source and Random Number Generator Developers
- Cryptographic Library and Platform Architects
- Testing Laboratories and Validation Professionals
