Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!tom.columbia.edu!eppstein From: eppstein@tom.columbia.edu (David Eppstein) Newsgroups: sci.crypt Subject: Security of RSA and factoring Message-ID: <4205@columbia.UUCP> Date: Sat, 10-Jan-87 15:30:29 EST Article-I.D.: columbia.4205 Posted: Sat Jan 10 15:30:29 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Jan-87 23:05:47 EST References: <9041@duke.duke.UUCP> Sender: nobody@columbia.UUCP Organization: Columbia University CS Department Lines: 13 In <9041@duke.duke.UUCP>, srt@duke.UUCP (Stephen R. Tate) writes: > Namely, breaking the RSA protocol has the same complexity as factoring > a very large number. The fastest computer available today would take > several billion years to factor such a large number, giving the security > of the system. This has not to my knowledge been proven. What is true is that the only known method of breaking RSA involves factoring huge numbers, but that is not to say that there is not some other undiscovered method. There are cryptosystems which have been proven equivalent to factoring, but I don't think RSA is one of them. -- David Eppstein, eppstein@cs.columbia.edu, seismo!columbia!cs!eppstein