Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcvax!cernvax!misha From: misha@cernvax.UUCP (misha) Newsgroups: sci.crypt Subject: Re: non-RSA public-key encryption systems Message-ID: <498@cernvax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-Jul-87 06:04:22 EDT Article-I.D.: cernvax.498 Posted: Tue Jul 7 06:04:22 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jul-87 01:30:30 EDT References: <8248@utzoo.UUCP] <8457@linus.UUCP> Reply-To: misha@cernvax.UUCP () Distribution: world Organization: CERN European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland Lines: 23 In article <8457@linus.UUCP> bs@linus.UUCP (Robert D. Silverman) writes: >In article <8248@utzoo.UUCP] henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes: >]Anybody know of a reasonably good public-key encryption system which has >]not been broken like the knapsack algorithm and is not patented like RSA? >]We have an urgent application for such a thing, and I would rather avoid > >It doesn't exist. > >Bob Silverman What about Michael Rabin's scheme? It is possibly more secure than RSA since Rabin proves it to be as intractable as factorization. Like RSA, the scheme involves a number n=p*q, a product of two large primes, but encryption and decryption functions are different. Also, they are a lot faster to compute. The scheme is described in MIT note MIT/LCS/TR-212 of January 1979. In fact, Rabin's scheme seems to be a clear winner over RSA, and I haven't heard of anybody finding flaws in it or applying for a patent. Anybody has more information? Michael Kharitonov misha@cernvax.bitnet