IP: Israeli Scientist Reports Discovery of Advance in Code Breaking

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/biztech/articles/02encr.html

Israeli Scientist Reports Discovery of Advance in Code Breaking
By JOHN MARKOFF


An Israeli computer scientist is expected to shake up the world of cryptography this week when he introduces a design 
for a device that could quickly unscramble computer-generated codes that until now have been considered secure enough 
for financial and government communications. 
In a paper to be presented Tuesday in Prague, the computer scientist, Adi Shamir, one of the world's foremost 
cryptographers, will describe a machine, not yet built, that could vastly improve the ability of code breakers to 
decipher codes thought to be unbreakable in practical terms. They are used to protect everything from financial 
transactions on the Internet to account balances stored in so-called smart cards. 

Shamir's idea would combine existing technology into a special computer that could be built for a reasonable cost, said 
several experts who have seen the paper. It is scheduled to be presented at an annual meeting of the International 
Association for Cryptographic Research, which begins on Monday.