| Crunching
Internet security codes
By factoring a
number consisting of 155 decimal digits, researchers have demonstrated
that numbers typically used in the so-called RSA encryption scheme for
securing information on the Internet no longer provide adequate
protection.
References:
An announcement
of the new factorization record can be found at http://listserv.nodak.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9908&L=nmbrthry&F=&S=&P=1905.
Further Readings:
Peterson, I. 1999.
Factoring with a TWINKLE. Science News 155(June 5):363.
______. 1999.
Cracking a prime cryptosystem. Science News 155(Feb. 6):95.
______. 1998.
Factoring reaches new heights. Science News 154(Oct. 3):217.
Sources:
Herman te Riele
CWI
Kruislaan 413
P.O. Box 94079
1090 GB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Web site: http://www.cwi.nl/cwi/people/Herman.te.Riele.html
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 14, October 2, 1999, p. 221. Copyright © 1999,
Science Service. |