Critical Infrastructure Protection is paramount for securing essential systems like energy pipelines, power grids, water systems, and healthcare, which are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. 

The 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack, detailed in The Hacker News’ report on the incident, exposed how a ransomware attack disrupted fuel supply across the U.S. Southeast, highlighting the fragility of critical systems. 

A key vulnerability exacerbating these risks is the entropy bottleneck, where weak random number generation undermines cryptographic security. Real Random’s True Random Number Generators (TRNGs), Entropy-as-a-Service (EaaS) platform, and patented keyless encryption technology offer a quantum-safe solution to secure essential systems against such threats.

The Entropy Bottleneck in Critical Infrastructure Security

Entropy, the unpredictable randomness used to generate cryptographic keys, is essential for securing critical infrastructure systems. From authenticating IoT devices in pipelines to encrypting patient data in healthcare, high-quality entropy ensures robust cryptography. However, critical infrastructure faces an entropy bottleneck due to:

• Resource-Constrained Devices: Many Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, like sensors in pipelines or medical implants, lack the computational power for robust entropy generation.
• Centralized RNG Limitations: Traditional centralized random number generators (RNGs) introduce latency and single points of failure, unsuitable for distributed critical systems.
• Pseudo-Random Generators (PRNGs): Software-based PRNGs produce predictable patterns, vulnerable to quantum attacks.
• Scalability Challenges: The vast scale of critical infrastructure, with millions of connected devices, demands high-volume, high-quality entropy that legacy systems struggle to provide.

These weaknesses expose critical systems to risks like ransomware, data breaches, and operational disruptions. The Colonial Pipeline attack, where hackers exploited weak security to deploy ransomware, demonstrates the real-world consequences of inadequate protections, causing fuel shortages and economic disruption.

For a deeper dive into entropy’s role, see our blog What Is Entropy-as-a-Service and Who Needs It.

Why Entropy Is Critical for Infrastructure Protection

Critical infrastructure relies on cryptography for:

• Device Authentication: Ensuring only authorized devices access networks, such as in pipelines or traffic control systems.
• Data Encryption: Protecting sensitive data, like operational telemetry or patient records, from breaches.
• Secure Updates: Preventing malicious firmware updates in industrial control systems.

Weak entropy undermines these protections. The Colonial Pipeline attack, as reported by The Hacker News, showed how vulnerabilities in IT systems can cascade to operational technology, halting pipeline operations. The looming quantum threat, or “Y2Q” (Years to Quantum), further escalates risks, as quantum computers could exploit predictable PRNGs to break encryption. 

Our blog Why True Random Number Generation Matters in the Post-Quantum Era explains how post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms, like ML-KEM, demand high-quality entropy to remain secure.

Real Random’s Solution: TRNG, EaaS, and Keyless Encryption

Real Random addresses the entropy bottleneck with its tamper-evident TRNGs, EaaS platform, and innovative keyless encryption technology, leveraging patented Brownian motion and mutating entropy tables to deliver quantum-safe randomness. Our solutions secure critical infrastructure against classical and quantum threats. Here’s how:

1. Tamper-Evident TRNG Hardware

Our TRNGs use optically verifiable Brownian motion capture units, ideal for edge deployment in critical infrastructure. Benefits include:

• Human-Verifiable Integrity: Security teams can visually confirm entropy source integrity, reducing supply chain risks.
• Edge Deployment: Portable, rack-mountable units eliminate latency and single points of failure, critical for distributed systems like pipelines.
• Scalability: Mass-producible hardware supports millions of devices, from sensors to medical equipment.

2. Entropy-as-a-Service (EaaS) for Seamless Integration

Real Random’s EaaS platform delivers high-quality entropy via secure APIs, enabling critical systems to access randomness on demand. Key features include:

• Low Latency: Global edge nodes provide sub-10ms entropy delivery, vital for real-time operations like pipeline monitoring.
• Elastic Scaling: Automatically adjusts to peak demand, supporting high-throughput environments like smart grids.
• Compliance-Ready: Pending NIST ESV certification ensures compatibility with standards like FIPS 140-2/3 and PCI DSS.

3. Keyless Encryption with Mutating Entropy Tables

Our patented keyless encryption technology revolutionizes security for resource-constrained IIoT devices. By generating one-time pads from small, pre-shared entropy tables that mutate using pre-shared hashing algorithms, we solve the challenge of limited on-chip entropy storage. This approach:

• Enables Compact Security: Generates robust one-time pads from minimal entropy tables, ideal for devices with limited memory, such as pipeline sensors.
• Ensures Quantum Resistance: Provides unbreakable encryption immune to classical and quantum attacks, perfect for high-assurance environments like energy and healthcare.
• Simplifies Deployment: Eliminates traditional key management, reducing vulnerabilities in distributed systems.

This application was recently approved under this patent.

4. Superior Entropy Quality

Our Brownian motion-based TRNGs pass NIST SP 800-90B, Diehard, and AIS 31 tests with >99% compliance, delivering maximum entropy density for PQC algorithms. This ensures robust key generation and encryption, unlike PRNGs or less reliable solutions like Cloudflare’s Wall of Entropy.

Real-World Applications in Critical Infrastructure

• Energy Pipelines: Deploy TRNGs and keyless encryption to authenticate IoT devices and secure telemetry, preventing ransomware attacks like the Colonial Pipeline incident.
• Healthcare: Use EaaS and mutating entropy tables to secure telehealth platforms and implantable devices, ensuring patient data privacy.
• Power Grids: Leverage TRNGs at edge locations to protect against attacks like those on Ukraine’s grid.
• Emergency Services: Utilize EaaS for real-time encryption of 911 communications, mitigating TDoS attacks.

How to Implement Real Random’s Solutions

To secure your critical infrastructure, follow these steps:

1. Assess Entropy Needs: Conduct a cryptographic inventory to identify entropy requirements for your devices and networks.
2. Pilot TRNG Hardware: Deploy our tamper-evident TRNGs at edge locations for low-latency entropy generation.
3. Integrate EaaS and Keyless Encryption: Use our RESTful APIs to deliver entropy and one-time pads to authentication systems, encryption protocols, and containerized apps.
4. Monitor and Scale: Leverage our web-based tools to monitor entropy quality and scale capacity as needed.

Conclusion

Critical infrastructure faces severe cyber threats, as evidenced by the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack, where ransomware disrupted fuel supply. The entropy bottleneck exacerbates these risks, undermining cryptographic security. 

Real Random’s TRNGs, EaaS platform, and keyless encryption technology provide a quantum-safe, scalable solution, delivering tamper-evident entropy and robust one-time pads to protect essential systems. Don’t let weak entropy be your weakest link—secure your infrastructure today.

Ready to enhance your critical infrastructure security? Contact Real Random for a technical consultation.