From: "     Toth"                         <1b2herma@nun.iut2-grenoble.fr>
Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 02:46:28 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Re: RSA breaking
Message-ID: <199605291420.QAA20321@nun.iut2-grenoble.fr>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Yes, RSA can be "broken" if enough computer power is thrown at a small key,
> but what you wrote is not proof that PGP is "broken".
PGP is completely based on RSA, break RSA, it's breaking PGP at the same time.
>What size of key are you talking about?
I said a hundred numbers key, but it can be applied on more, course a thousand, even 200 or 300 seems quite impossible in matter of time.
>How much hardware?
Difficult to evaluate, as long as it is not really my way(it's programming), but it's kite simple to make hardware from algorithms, just with an optimized eratosten crible(it's the name in french, i don't know the translation, but you'll certainly understand).
>How much cost?
Hard to evaluate, an infinite amount of money(i mean in matter of research) would be enough, sure that only a big lab, or a government can support this, but as soon as built, the breaking box is of no price.
>Please back it up with some numbers.
For the cost, i can't evaluate, for the time, i'll calculate tonight, and will send results tomorrow.
  Sincerely yours, 
     Eric
 PS: Hope not everyone will take my mail as bad as you think to take it, a thousands pardon if i misunderstood(or you), but it's quite hard for me to follow in English, and to explain with full subtility.