Advanced Embedded Systems & IoT
Q97 / 100

Why might an embedded system use a "hardware random number generator" (HRNG) instead of a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) for cryptographic key generation?

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Incorrect.

The correct answer is A) A PRNG produces deterministic output from its seed; a predictable or low-entropy seed (common on constrained devices at boot) yields guessable keys, whereas an HRNG uses physical entropy for stronger randomness

A

Correct Answer

A PRNG produces deterministic output from its seed; a predictable or low-entropy seed (common on constrained devices at boot) yields guessable keys, whereas an HRNG uses physical entropy for stronger randomness

Explanation

Embedded devices often lack good entropy sources at boot, which has historically led to predictable keys when relying solely on PRNGs; hardware RNGs that sample physical noise sources provide higher-quality entropy critical for secure key generation.

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97/100