From: "Peter trei" <ptrei@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 23:32:35 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Factor a 2048 bit number
Message-ID: <19971119151527.7288.qmail@hotmail.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



>Someone styling themselves as "Monty Cantsin" writes:

>This number is the product of two large primes:
>[big number deleted]

>Yet, I believe that an enterprising individual will be able to factor 
>it.
>Monty Cantsin

If your belief has any basis in reality, I'd like to hear what it
is. Schneier gives estimates for factoring 2048 bit numbers using
both the General Number Field Sieve and the Special Number Field
Sieve. SNFS is by far the fastest, and with that it would take
4*10^14 MIPS-years.

All of the computer power expended in the RSA Symmetric Key 
Challenges (DES, RC5-56, etc) up to this point amount to, 
generously, 10^7 MIPS-years. This is only one forty-millionth 
of power needed.

It's been said that 'Those who will not do arithmetic are doomed
to speak nonsense.' You are proving the truth of this.

RSA has a substantial prize for factoring much smaller numbers. It's
estimated, for example, that RSA-155 (about 512 bits), could be
factored in 500,000 MIPS-years.

Peter Trei
ptrei@hotmail.com
  


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