04 — Trusted setup · Failure mode

Entropy theatre presented as a security control

An unusual randomness source is used and publicised in place of a vetted CSPRNG, sometimes with no independent check that it produced high-quality, unpredictable, unrecoverable bits.

By MarketComp Updated 2026-09-12 v1.3 About the authors Changelog

Mitigation

Use the platform CSPRNG as the primary source. Additional entropy may be mixed in, and may be filmed for communication purposes, but the security argument must not depend on it.

Cite this page

MarketComp (2026). Entropy theatre presented as a security control. The ZK Field Manual (Version 1.3). MarketComp. https://zkpick.com/ceremony/failure-modes/entropy-theatre-presented-as-a-security-control/

@misc{zkfieldmanual-entropy-theatre-presented-as-a-security-,
  title        = {Entropy theatre presented as a security control — The ZK Field Manual},
  author       = {MarketComp},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.3},
  howpublished = {\url{https://zkpick.com/ceremony/failure-modes/entropy-theatre-presented-as-a-security-control/}},
  note         = {Accessed: YYYY-MM-DD}
}