DES & RC4-48 Challenges

[Dan Bailey]

On Mon, 21 Aug 95 23:13:06 -0400 you wrote:

>
>Hello all,
>
>	Lets face it the real challenge is DES, but those 56 bits are quite a 
>bit harder than 40. 65536 times harder in fact.
>
>40 bit code a tad and set to work. It sounds as if it is comparable to the 
>RSA-129 prime that was cracked (OK its probably a touch harder but machines are 
>faster now).
>
>	So who wants to make an RC-48 and a DES challenge?

Not having my copy of The Differential Cryptanalysis of the Data
Encryption Standard handy, I'd like to know about the distributability
of this type of DES attack.  Done right, we could significantly reduce
the time complexity.
	The main problem, of course, would be coordinating such an effort.  I
seem to recall this attack requiring lots of known plaintexts.  Time
to review the text, I suppose....
	Does the Federal Reserve still use single-key DES?
						Dan  
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"I think, therefore I am" - Descartes                            Dan Bailey
"I don't think, therefore I'm a moustache." - Sartre		    dan at milliways.org
Worcester Polytechnic Institute and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
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