Mathematicians From Around the World Collaborate to Solve Latest RSA Factoring Challenge

[R. A. Hettinga]

Duelling crypto-crack press-releases this morning.

Ford vs. GM, er, Certicom vs. RSA...

Cheers,
RAH
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<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/04-27-2004/0002160593&EDATE=TUE+Apr+27+2004,+09:00+AM>


Silicon Valley Biz Ink :: The voice of the valley economy

        April 27, 2004



Computers/Electronics News

Press release distributed
by PR Newswire

 Mathematicians From Around the World Collaborate to Solve Latest RSA
Factoring Challenge

 < back




    Contest provides practical gauge of current cryptographic research and
   encourages development of higher standards of security for organizations

    BEDFORD, Mass., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RSA Laboratories, the
research center of RSA Security Inc. (Nasdaq: RSAS) today announced that a
team from the Scientific Computing Institute and the Pure Mathematics
Institute in Germany, along with the National Research Institute for
Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands and several other
organizations, has solved the RSA-576 Factoring Challenge.  The worldwide team
of eight solved the challenge using approximately 100 workstations in a little
more than three months, and earned a cash prize of $10,000 from RSA Security
for their efforts.
    Originally started in 1991 and relaunched with its current set of
challenge numbers in 2001, RSA Laboratories' Factoring Challenge was
established to encourage research into computational number theory and the
practical difficulty of factoring large integers. "The information received
during these challenges is a valuable resource to the cryptographic community
and can be helpful for organizations in choosing appropriate cryptographic
measures for a desired level of security," said Burt Kaliski, chief scientist
and director at RSA Laboratories.
    To solve the factoring challenge, the consortium leveraged resources from
around the world, including hardware from the Experimental Mathematics
Institute in Essen, Germany, from the Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der
Informationstechnologie (BSI), and experts from the Number Field Sieve network
of mathematicians throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The factoring of RSA-576 was completed using the general number field sieve
factoring algorithm (GNFS) to gather data, find dependencies among the data
and ultimately leverage those dependencies to factor the number.
    "I'm very proud of all these individuals from around the world and their
efforts to solve this first factoring challenge," said Jens Franke of the Pure
Mathematics Institute at Bonn University.  "The collaborative efforts of
everyone involved in this accomplishment are indicative of the achievements in
mathematics, and cryptography on a greater scale, that can be realized and
applied to protect the data of businesses around the world.  We are excited to
continue working on such projects that will assist in cryptographic research
to build stronger algorithms in an effort to ensure the integrity of sensitive
corporate information."
    RSA Laboratories sponsors a series of cryptographic challenges that allow
individuals or groups to attempt to solve various encryption "puzzles" for
cash prizes.  The RSA-576 Factoring Challenge is one of a series of factoring
challenges set forth by the research arm of RSA Security to determine the
difficulty of customizing algorithms for factoring and assessing the strength
of larger key sizes.
    RSA-576 is a smaller-scale example of the types of cryptographic keys that
are recommended to secure Internet and wireless transactions.  Typical keys
are at least 1024 bits (310 decimal digits); RSA-576 is 576 bits (174 decimal
digits).  Larger numbers are considered to provide significantly greater
security.  The next challenge number in the series is RSA-640.
    "RSA Security extends our congratulations to the team for their efforts,"
said Kaliski.  "This challenge demonstrates how the work of a few can have a
broad impact on the development of the critical nature of cryptography.  Their
work reflects the kind of expertise and resources needed to factor large
numbers.  Such challenges are designed to track the evolution of cryptographic
research and ensure businesses are protecting their intellectual property and
critical data with the right levels of security."

    About RSA Security Inc.
    RSA Security Inc. helps organizations protect private information and
manage the identities of people and applications accessing and exchanging that
information. RSA Security's portfolio of solutions -- including identity &
access management, secure mobile & remote access, secure enterprise access and
secure transactions -- are all designed to provide the most seamless e-
security experience in the market. Our strong reputation is built on our
history of ingenuity, leadership, proven technologies and our more than 14,000
customers around the globe. Together with more than 1,000 technology and
integration partners, RSA Security inspires confidence in everyone to
experience the power and promise of the Internet. For more information, please
visit http://www.rsasecurity.com.

    RSA is a trademark of RSA Security Inc. in the United States and/or other
countries.  All other products and services mentioned are trademarks of their
respective companies.

    For more information:
     Roger Fortier                           Tim Powers
     McGrath/Power Public Relations          RSA Security Inc.
     (408) 727-0351                     (781) 515-6212
     rogerf at mcgrathpower.com                 tpowers at rsasecurity.com


-- 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'