Hoax or ???

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>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 23:30:25 MST
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>From: Colin James 0621 <cjames@DSC.BLM.GOV>
>Subject: Public key encryption broken
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William H Payne originally discovered how to break RSA without factoring
by using powers of two on 10/15/90.

Mr Payne wrote a draft paper "Public Key Cryptography is Easy to
Break" on 10/16/90.  The abstract (draft only) appears below:

  Public key, also known as Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman,
  cryptography is broken without factoring the modulus m.
  The product of the encryption and the decryption exponent is
  computed directly with order log(base 2) m shifts, adds, and compares.
  A continued product between the modulus and its multiplier which
  matches a criterion solves the Fermat-Euler theorems simply for
  even very large moduli.

Mr Payne is writing a tutorial paper on the same subject with Jon
Grant which should propose a new public encryption algorithm as
a standard which can not be easily broken.

This indirectly relates to Ada in that projects in the process of
implementing public key encryption in Ada may find these advances
of value.

This information also calls into the question the validity of
patent claims for RSA.

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Colin  James  III   :   Disclaimer:
BLM, SC-342D, DFC   :   -----------
Denver, CO  80225   :   The opinions expressed here are solely
(303)  236 - 5897   :   responsible for their content.
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Be aware that Colin James is pushing his own, newly-patented
encryption system as an alternative to RSA. It appears to be a simple
XOR stream but I don't have full details.

However, based on the tenor of his other postings to comp.lang.ada, I
think it's probably safe to take him lightly.

- -Paul

- -- 
Paul Robichaux, KD4JZG     | Richard Davis was twice convicted of kidnapping. 
Intergraph Federal Systems | He was released twice; then he killed Polly Klaas.
Not speaking for Intergraph| Why wasn't he in jail? Why's he still alive? 


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