Yao’s next-bit test

E503604

Yao’s next-bit test is a foundational cryptographic criterion that characterizes pseudorandomness by requiring that no efficient algorithm can predict the next bit of a sequence significantly better than random guessing, given all previous bits.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cryptographic test
pseudorandomness criterion
theoretical computer science concept
advantageMeasure difference between predictor’s success probability and 1/2
advantageRequirement advantage must be negligible in the security parameter
adversaryGoal predict the next output bit
adversaryView adversary sees prefix of the sequence
appliesTo bit sequences
pseudorandom generators
assumes computationally bounded adversaries
characterizes pseudorandomness
contrastWith statistical tests of randomness
coreRequirement no efficient algorithm can predict the next bit significantly better than random guessing
criterionType next-bit unpredictability test
efficiencyModel probabilistic polynomial-time algorithms
equivalenceType if and only if characterization of pseudorandom generators
equivalentTo indistinguishability from a truly random sequence by any efficient algorithm
field computational complexity theory
cryptography
theoretical computer science
formalizes unpredictability of bits
given all previous bits of the sequence
implies no polynomial-time distinguisher can tell the sequence from uniform with non-negligible advantage
influenced formal definitions of pseudorandomness in cryptography
isImpliedBy indistinguishability-based definition of pseudorandom generators
logicalForm if a generator is pseudorandom then it passes the next-bit test
if a generator passes the next-bit test then it is pseudorandom
mathematicalNature asymptotic, complexity-theoretic definition
namedAfter Andrew Chi-Chih Yao NERFINISHED
nature computational, not information-theoretic, notion of randomness
originatesFrom Yao’s 1982 work on pseudorandom number generation
outputDomain binary sequences
quantifiesOver all polynomial-time prediction algorithms
all positions in the output sequence
randomGuessBaseline probability 1/2 of predicting the next bit
relatedConcept Yao’s theorem on pseudorandom generators NERFINISHED
computational indistinguishability
hard-core predicates
one-way functions
securityParameter length of the generator’s seed
successProbabilityBound prediction advantage over 1/2 must be negligible
testOutcome sequence is pseudorandom if all efficient predictors fail with only negligible advantage
typicalContext construction and analysis of pseudorandom generators from one-way functions
usedIn foundations of modern cryptography
security proofs for pseudorandom generators
usedToDefine computational pseudorandomness
secure pseudorandom generators
yearProposed 1982

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