A network of 292 computers broke the security codes used to protect Net transactions.
By Margaret Kane, ZDNN
August 30, 1999 5:11 AM PT
A team of international researchers has managed to break the security codes used to protect Internet transactions, it was reported over the weekend.
RSA Data Security Inc. a division of Security Dynamics Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: SDTI) said the team used a network of 292 computers at 11 different locations over seven months to break the code.
RSA had issued a challenge to see who could crack its program. The team was required to determine the two prime factors in a 512-bit encryption key. The key is used to decode encrypted data.
RSA officials said in a release that the breakthrough "reconfirms its ongoing recommendation for using 768-bit keys as the minimum for achieving reliable security."
The 512-bit encryption system is the highest level allowed for export in the United States.
The international team used some hard-core computing to break the key. RSA said the project involved 160 175-400-MHz SGI and Sun workstations, eight 250-MHz SGI Origin 2000 processors, 120 300-450-MHz Pentium II PCs and four 500-MHz Digital/Compaq CPUs, and required approximately 8000 MIPS-years of CPU effort.
More information about the RSA Factoring Challenge is available at rsa.com.
zdnet.com
See also: ZDNN's Internet section
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