Full Disclosure mailing list archives
Crypto and Primes
From: "Daniel Sichel" <daniels () Ponderosatel com>
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 14:31:28 -0700
And if the problem of factoring large numbers into primes was indeed solved (this is probably what you meant), I think you'd very quickly see a complete replacement of crypto systems in use today by the governments with such security services.
Depending on how rigourous you are being, the large in large numbers is a relative term. I know from talking to someone who has worked in for real government crypto that there is enough storage space to create a lookup db of a good chunk (if not all) of the PGP crypto keys in use for common key sizes (512 and 1024). I doubt SSL is less vulnerable. I guess there's force, brute force, and brute force with taxpayer dollars. Also with cheapo Linux clusters I would think a determined hackmeister could do a crack on large prime based crypto, whether that would be computationally feasible in a relevant time frame, I don't know. I do know my gut tells me SSL is cryptographically weak and I refuse to use it in place of IPSEC. Dan Sichel _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.netsys.com/full-disclosure-charter.html
Current thread:
- Crypto and Primes Daniel Sichel (Oct 22)
- Re: Crypto and Primes Jeremy Bishop (Oct 22)
- Re: Crypto and Primes Andrew (Oct 23)
- Re: Crypto and Primes Janusz A. Urbanowicz (Oct 24)
- Re: Crypto and Primes Jeremy Bishop (Oct 22)