[1298] in bugtraq
Re: Non-PK encryption not vulnerable via low key length?!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John B. Brown)
Sat Mar 18 02:26:10 1995
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 01:30:16 -0500
From: "John B. Brown" <jbb@cs.umb.edu>
To: asutton@tenagra.com, softtest@wu1.wl.aecl.ca
Cc: bugtraq@fc.net
Dear Folks,
> From owner-bugtraq@fc.net Fri Mar 17 06:42:18 1995
> Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 12:42:18 -0600 (CST)
> From: Allan Sutton <asutton@tenagra.com>
> To: Software Test Account <softtest@wu1.wl.aecl.ca>
> On Thu, 16 Mar 1995, Software Test Account wrote:
> >
> > RC2 and RC4 are both public key systems -- then why wouldn't factoring
> > the key prove equally as (greatly more) effective as with attacks on
> > RSA/PGP.
> This is the crux of the matter. RC2 and RC4 are _not_ public key systems.
> They are conventional secret key algorithms, in the same class as DES or
> IDEA.
> Allan Sutton
> asutton@tenagra.com
If they are in the same class as DES, then they are in
BIG trouble! The $1M machine proposed by Michael J. Weiner in
`Efficient DES Key Search' does in DES in 3.5 hours. according
to the 'math'. Of course, anyone Big Brother wants to hear, he
WILL hear.
Shalom,
JBB.
