From: SINCLAIR  DOUGLAS N <sinclai@ecf.toronto.edu>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 95 17:21:38 PDT
To: starrd@iia2.org (starrd)
Subject: Re: opinions on RSA Secure?
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSD.3.91.950831154639.27318A-100000@usr4.primenet.com>
Message-ID: <95Aug31.202112edt.1621@cannon.ecf.toronto.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


> The fact that the key is only 80 is *major* compromise.  I would 
> recommend that package to no-one.   With only a 80 bit key you dont 
> *need* trapdoors, granted they may be more "convienient" but the fact is 
> the 80 key *can* [and certainly will] be broken...
I disagree.  If we assume that RC4 and DES can be run at the same speed
(I don't know how true this is) then 80 bit RC4 is 2^24 times harder
to break than DES.  That's 16 million.  A machine that will crack
DES in one day is of the order of one million dollars.  It would take
50,000 years to crack 80-bit RC4.  Alternativly, a one-day crack
would cost 16 trillion dollars.  I feel safe with those numbers.

Certainly, for the most paranoid 128 bit IDEA is better than an
80 bit RC4.  However, to say that it is unsuitable for anyone is
a vast stretch.  Considering it probably has a better user-interface
than SecureDrive, it may be more suitable for the average person.