Pseudorandom number generators based on random covers for finite groups

Random covers for finite groups have been introduced in Magliveras et?al. (J Cryptol 15:285–297, 2002), Lempken et?al. (J Cryptol 22:62–74, 2009), and Svaba and van Trung (J Math Cryptol 4:271–315, 2010) for constructing public key cryptosystems. In this article we describe a new approach for constructing pseudorandom number generators using random covers for large finite groups. We focus, in particular, on the class of elementary abelian 2-groups and study the randomness of binary sequences generated from these generators. We successfully carry out an extensive test of the generators by using the NIST Statistical Test Suite and the Diehard battery of tests. Moreover, the article presents argumentation showing that the generators are suitable for cryptographic applications. Finally, we include performance data of the generators and propose a method of using them in practice.