Patent ID: 7660414

Claim:
A random number generating apparatus comprising: affine key generating and holding means for generating and holding a plurality of items of affine key data expressed by four integers as K={a, b, c, n,}, an action of the affine key on an integer x of a finite field F is defined as K(x)=ax+b where for a plurality of coefficients a and b, c represents a number of use times and n represents a predetermined limit on the use times; random number generating means for selecting an item of a first affine key data from the plurality of items of the affine key data held in the affine key generating and holding means, in accordance with previously generated random number data, and generating random number data in accordance with the selected item of the first affine key data; and control means for counting the number of use times (c) for the generation of the random number data of the first affine key data generated by the random number generating means and, if it is determined that the number of use times (c) is equal to or greater than the predetermined limit on the use times (n) of the first affine key data, setting the number of use times (c) of the first affine key data to 0 and updating the coefficients a, b of the first affine key data held by the affine key generating and holding means, in accordance with a second affine key data held by the affine key generating and holding means.