CDR: ZDNet UK News: Mathematics experts promise encryption boost

[mikefreeman at hushmail.com]

This ZDNET UK News story has been forwarded to you by mikefreeman at hushmail.com
who has added these comments:
Has anybody here looked at the algorithim? If so what are your thoughts? 

Mathematics experts promise encryption boost

Thu, 31 Aug 2000 15:02:03 GMT  Will Knight

With the government's snooping bill looming, experts devise ways of
making Net communications more secure

A technique that promises to make advanced encryption more secure has
been developed by mathematics experts at France's National Institute
for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA).

Robert Harley, a graduate student at INRIA and one of the researchers
behind the new technique, says the new method will make "elliptic
curve" cryptography less vulnerable to attack. Elliptic curve
cryptography is a mathematical method for generating keys that are
commonly used to secure email messages and Internet connections.
Elliptic curve cryptography is more difficult to solve than older
techniques but it takes time to calculate the curves in the first
place.

Harley has created an algorithm that makes it much easier to generate
individual elliptic curves, which can be used to generate unique user
keys for securing individual messages.

"Most people who use elliptic curve cryptography stick with one curve.
Within academic circles this is seen as slightly dangerous. It like
putting all your eggs in one basket," says Harley.

Harley's algorithm, which is based on theoretical work of Japanese
mathematician Takakazu Satoh of Saitama University, makes it possible
to calculate a curve with far less computing power than is
conventionally required. The time taken for a common calculation is
reduced from days to a matter of hours.

The new technique is likely to have an impact on commercial
applications cryptography. Harley says that US software company
Encrsoft is already hoping to incorporate his technique into its
encrypted instant messaging application Top Secret Messenger. Entrust
has also expressed an interested in the technique. The approach may
also be used to make SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption, which is
used to send transactions and communications over HTTP Internet
connections more secure. Researchers at Sun and Standford University
are developing SSL solutions based on Harley's research.

They can see you... Read about how and why in Surveillance
(http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/specials/1999/09/surveillance/), a ZDNet
News Special

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