True random number generator (TRNG), Haskell and an empirical / formal method

Question

I want to produce verifications to a true random number generator (TRNG) numbers generated by specific hardware, but I'm not used to this.

Firstly, I want to test the consistency of the True Random Number Generator (TRNG) via empiric methods (AKA, I want to check if they are really true random numbers (TRNs)); and I don't know if I can check this with formal methods.

Are there some specific lectures on this topic? What about some tips? Are there tools for this empiric method testing?

Answer 1

I'd suggest that you not try to duplicate existing tools, since it would be a lot of work. Marsaglia's Diehard tests should work, or you can use dieharder, which is a GPL reimplementation. From the webpage:

The primary point of dieharder (like diehard before it) is to make it easy to time and test (pseudo)random number generators, both software and hardware, for a variety of purposes in research and cryptography. The tool is built entirely on top of the GSL's random number generator interface and uses a variety of other GSL tools (e.g. sort, erfc, incomplete gamma, distribution generators) in its operation.