AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard, is one of the most important algorithms in modern cryptography. Certain randomness properties of AES are of vital importance for its security. At the same time, these properties makes AES an interesting candidate for a fast nonlinear random number generator for stochastic simulation. In this article, we address both of these two aspects of AES. We study the performance of AES in a series of statistical tests that are related to cryptographic notions like confusion and diffusion. At the same time, these tests provide empirical evidence for the suitability of AES in stochastic simulation. A substantial part of this article is devoted to the strategy behind our tests and to their relation to other important test statistics like Maurer's Universal Test.
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