Random-number generators are used to pick juries, select samples for financial audits and assign participants in clinical trials to treatment or placebo groups. The unpredictability of random numbers ensures that such selections are not biased. However, for these systems to be secure and fair, we need a way to verify that a random-number generator has not been tampered with. Writing in Nature, Kavuri et al.1 report a random-number generator based on the quantum phenomenon of entanglement and underpinned by classical cryptography. Their protocol marks an important step forward, because it doesn’t require users to take the randomness of the output on trust: every part of the protocol is publicly recorded, and the randomness of the numbers produced can be verified by anyone.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
