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Fujitsu Cracks Next-Gen Cryptography Standard

Posted by timothy on from the just-showing-off-now dept.

judgecorp writes "Fujitsu and partners have cracked a cryptogram which used 278-digit (923 bit) pairing-based cryptography. The technology was proposed as a next-generation standard, but Fujitsu cracked it, at this level in just over 148 days using 21 personal computers." Reader Thorfinn.au adds a snippet from Fujitsu's announcement of the break: "This was an extremely challenging problem as it required several hundred times computational power compared with the previous world record of 204 digits (676 bits). We were able to overcome this problem by making good use of various new technologies, that is, a technique optimizing parameter setting that uses computer algebra, a two dimensional search algorithm extended from the linear search, and by using our efficient programing techniques to calculate a solution of an equation from a huge number of data, as well as the parallel programming technology that maximizes computer power."

5 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Pretty Fast by MyLongNickName · · Score: 4, Insightful

    148 PCs * 21 days is around ten years of PC time. Not much in the grand scheme of things.

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    1. Re:Pretty Fast by KingMotley · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sure you can. You just can't do it with an interval of 1.

  2. What algorithm was this? by Urd.Yggdrasil · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This article makes very little sense to me. They don't mention what the crypto algorithm was or who was pushing it as the "next gen standard". I don't know of any proposed cryptographic standard with 923 bit anything.

  3. Re:and yet by localman57 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You don't know that. If they can, they aren't going to tell you. And they aren't going to piss away a secret capability that valuable prosecuting some drug-dealer, or kiddie porn maker. For the forseeable future, you'd only use it on matters of highest national interest, and then you'd only act directly on such information if you were resonably sure it wasn't a red-herring specifically designed to test if you can break such encryption.

  4. Re:So much for that idea... by wkcole · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Got a reference for that? The Fujitsu PR seems to say otherwise but it suffers from being a weak translation. (which raises the question: WTF is wrong with Fujitsu that they don't have anyone capable of well-written English???)