[79737] in Cypherpunks
64-bit CPU 10x faster in crypto?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Stout)
Fri May 9 23:21:55 1997
Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 10:32:08 -0700
From: Bill Stout <stoutb@pios.com>
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Reply-To: Bill Stout <stoutb@pios.com>
During a Digital seminar, a statement was made that 64-bit CPUs are about
10x faster than a 32-bit CPU in dealing with crypto, and that Alphas are
favorites of Crypto-affiliated Gov't agencies. I spoke with a reference
within Digital and the following logic was presented:
o A 128-bit key is processed in two 64-bit chunks, vs four 32-bit chunks,
greatly reducing processing time.
o The Alpha executes four instructions per clock cycle.
o Alpha clock ratings are 600MHz this summer.
o Caveat: The O.S. needs to support 64-bit processing (Digital UNIX or
Linux, not NT).
I'm concerned about the strength of personal/corporate crypto in face of
large jumps in processing power.
I do not subscribe to cypherpunks due to the volume, so please respond to me
directly on this question. stoutb@pios.com
Bill Stout
