Tech

[$] Python's two modules for random numbers

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Briefings

Python's random and secrets modules both provide random number utilities, but only secrets is suitable for security. Historically, random was used for passwords despite warnings, and in 2015 the core team debated making random secure by default. In 2016, Python 3.6 introduced the secrets module as the secure alternative. The random module remains misused in practice, making its usage patterns instructive for security best practices.

Key points

• The secrets module was introduced in Python 3.6 in 2016 as the secure alternative to the random module for generating passwords and security tokens.
• Historically, the random module was used for passwords and tokens despite documentation warning it is unsuitable for cryptography.

Context

Python's core team debated in 2015 whether to fix the random module's unsuitability for security by making it secure by default. The decision was delayed until 2016 when the secrets module was added to address this issue.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to the 2016 introduction of the secrets module and historical context of random module usage. No specific security test results, adoption statistics, or implementation details of the secrets module are provided.

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