diff --git a/core/random.hpp b/core/random.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1515b72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/random.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2014,  Regents of the University of California,
+ *                      Arizona Board of Regents,
+ *                      Colorado State University,
+ *                      University Pierre & Marie Curie, Sorbonne University,
+ *                      Washington University in St. Louis,
+ *                      Beijing Institute of Technology,
+ *                      The University of Memphis
+ *
+ * This file is part of NFD (Named Data Networking Forwarding Daemon).
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of NFD authors and contributors.
+ *
+ * NFD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
+ * either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * NFD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
+ * without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
+ * PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * NFD, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * This file declares the global random number generator
+ * All random numbers in NFD should use this global random number generator,
+ * so that the generator can be properly seeded when necessary.
+ *
+ * This random number generator is not suitable for security purposes;
+ * security-critical code should use CryptoPP random number generator instead.
+ */
+
+#ifndef NFD_CORE_RANDOM_HPP
+#define NFD_CORE_RANDOM_HPP
+
+#include <boost/random/mersenne_twister.hpp>
+
+namespace nfd {
+
+/** \return the global random number generator instance
+ */
+boost::random::mt19937&
+getGlobalRng();
+
+} // namespace nfd
+
+#endif // NFD_CORE_RANDOM_HPP