Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!unc!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!mit-eddie!zzz From: zzz@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mike Konopik) Newsgroups: net.crypt Subject: Re: secure codes Message-ID: <1260@mit-eddie.UUCP> Date: Sun, 12-Feb-84 10:01:37 EST Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.1260 Posted: Sun Feb 12 10:01:37 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 13-Feb-84 03:36:30 EST References: <239@vortex.UUCP> <620@nsc.UUCP> Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA Lines: 20 What's this nonsense about public key systems being obsolete? I heard about that group in New Mexico that used this Cray to factor some 70 or so digit number in less than a day. So? It seems I also heard that they were lucky and that one of the factors was much smaller than would be expected. Even so, "fast" factoring of numbers this size hardly endangers the 150-200 digit PAIRS of primes used to generate keys that Rivest suggests for security. These would produce 300-400 digit keys that are still a long way from being threatened by existing factoring schemes. Black is White War is Peace RSA is Obsolete P = NP . . . -- -Mike genrad!mit-eddie!zzz (UUCP) ZZZ%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC (ARPA)