-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 On 1/19/2012 07:27 PM, Neil Bothwick wrote: > On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:28:04 -0500, Chris Walters wrote: >> Possible, but not too likely*. RSA keys are based on two very large >> prime numbers and their composite. The two primes are hundreds of >> digits in length, and are used to generate the cipher (public) key, and >> the decipher (secret) key. After which their composite is found and >> the two primes are discarded. > > I know it is extremely unlikely that anyone could crack it. My point was > that if someone did crack it, they would not necessarily shout about it. > If they worked for the security services, that would not want others to > know their encryption was insecure. Britain was selling Enigma machines > to their "friends" for decades after it was broken.
That is very true. In fact, they'd likely do just what you brought up about Britain selling Enigma machines to their "friends" after it was broken. That is that would likely promote the cipher(s) they know how to crack and dismiss the ones they don't as being "not secure". >> probably does the CIA/MI5 (or is it MI6 now?). > > GCHQ, as mentioned above :) GCHQ, eh? What does that stand for, or is that a State secret? Like the NSA = "No Such Agency"... Chris -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQIcBAEBCgAGBQJPGLcmAAoJEFHj8CHvnA9YoRYP/R7Ln7rQc59J+By0cXnwgK6i XeQgXHe3m02XKBqSxZVRihVPMUoUeJbs9ianemWgNq5I5WDD8qjnjFIMJv+3YHan DHqJxIhnRiirMAsUowCxwFktjhN6kpQgOOZvxrxid+q5GpfEh39VM9+eiqogoHHK R5aAf0SC6ZSOqmCx5vv/bfWXJPgxXeunyi3xZ7S+ZQZOQhVqu5XyMTHvwzibiMbX zbbpRUIer8Sx+5C4+Vf317ftOhV7Ix2jIdSmJAUW0AxVuqSC6B3ab+PLTz7IVrui a1RucF0B8zb5OJnLSSapB9K68U9X2j96RcnxyyrCQzTYEyf0ICIeWBTWeijqP1nd qt2qWXMKFTK+5p9TOD53QJkATk0ZwOhnVbHmc/zPXHk20YgvwC3ucRkExVJW9sU5 Mre8YE6j7Ds/JegBIkp1TY7lfkNWXhmGVxwzTlIqveHIimtDwTPgxefrP67GHyt6 vjr+lWek+hj0Fix0xW542Oj4434+JNpxyUjqOjEiVQ8oPInsri/qBobLxVu3ZRd6 y6YI/NYD+8HRum/3YfKmkgWi6KuuJ9zqa12tpbwh83nNTsakY8emCEnLIXpfhy+K CXGgIDxtX3tWuvOPtIt/OgWTIhPjNozlN7v+lSg42SC5cgMkSErsM/LFTYBZ65ti kzrMYYwxfXUP22eJnbCx =egVJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 120119-1, 01/19/2012 Tested on: 1/19/2012 7:36:59 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2012 AVAST Software. http://www.avast.com
