Path: news.delphi.com!noc.near.net!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!news.ysu.edu!psuvm!auvm!DSC.BLM.GOV!cjames Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Return-Path: <@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU, @VM42.CSO.UIUC.EDU:owner-info-ada@VM1.NODAK.EDU> Return-Path: <@VM1.NODAK.EDU:cjames@DSC.BLM.GOV> X-Mailer: SCO System V Mail (version 3.2) Source-Info: From (or Sender) name not authenticated. Message-ID: <9312212330.aa07880@dsc.blm.gov> Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 23:30:25 MST Sender: Ada programming language <INFO-ADA@NDSUVM1.BITNET> From: Colin James 0621 <cjames@DSC.BLM.GOV> Subject: Public key encryption broken Comments: To: info-ada@vm1.nodak.edu Comments: cc: barlow@eff.org, gdean@yarrow.wt.uwa.edu.au Lines: 30

William H Payne originally discovered how to break RSA without factoring by using powers of two on 10/15/90. Mr Payne wrote a draft paper "Public Key Cryptography is Easy to Break" on 10/16/90. The abstract (draft only) appears below: Public key, also known as Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman, cryptography is broken without factoring the modulus m. The product of the encryption and the decryption exponent is computed directly with order log(base 2) m shifts, adds, and compares. A continued product between the modulus and its multiplier which matches a criterion solves the Fermat-Euler theorems simply for even very large moduli. Mr Payne is writing a tutorial paper on the same subject with Jon Grant which should propose a new public encryption algorithm as a standard which can not be easily broken. This indirectly relates to Ada in that projects in the process of implementing public key encryption in Ada may find these advances of value. This information also calls into the question the validity of patent claims for RSA. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Colin James III : Disclaimer: BLM, SC-342D, DFC : ----------- Denver, CO 80225 : The opinions expressed here are solely (303) 236 - 5897 : responsible for their content. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -