Hardware RNG, PGP key signing party – London 21/01/2016


Random numberThe BCS OSSG and the OSHUG are hosting a talk on hardware random number generation, plus a PGP key signing party.

The event will be held on Thursday 21st January at BCS HQ – 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA, [map] from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

Hardware random number generation

In this talk we will take a look at what makes a good random number, why you might want a reliable source of them and some methods of generating random numbers in hardware.

Mark Longstaff-Tyrell has a degree in Electronic Engineering and a masters in Intelligent Systems from UCL. He has extensive experience in app development and as well as working at several blue chip companies was part of the team that launched the BBC’s flagship iPlayer app for Android in addition to leading the teams that delivered the mobile apps for BBC News. He has designed electronics kits under the Denkimono label, and has recently co-founded and launched a tech-fashion brand in the UK. Mark is also a consultant for small businesses and start-ups on apps, mobile and hardware development.

PGP key signing party

There will be a quick introduction to PGP, The Web of Trust, public/private key cryptography and key signing. Following this there will be a key signing party and everyone is invited to participate!

The idea of a key signing party is to help build and strengthen the “Web of Trust”. The PGP Web of Trust is used extensively in Free and Open Source communities in order to verify the authenticity of software distributions and e-mail. Participating in the Web of Trust by having your key signed and by signing other keys, establishes your identity as a member of the community and increases the likelihood that you will be able to verify the signatures that are often included on messages sent to mailing lists.

In order to take part in the key signing party you need to:

  1. Have a PGP key. If you do not have one already and need assistance, please e-mail Andy Bennett and he will help you get started.
  2. Submit your key to Andy Bennett before Friday 15th January 2016, so that he can compile the key list.
  3. Be physically present at this meeting!
  4. For keys containing your real name, bring government issued photo ID. For pseudonymous keys please bring appropriate evidence that you are allowed to use that name and assert that identity.
  5. Have details of the key you submitted: key ID, key type, key fingerprint and key size. You can get this information from GPG by using the following command: gpg your.email@address.dom.
  6. Bring a printed copy of the key list that will be circulated between 16th and 20th January.

Leave a comment