RSA Is Broken! (Not Really)

Michael will cover a paper that raised the eyebrows of many observers of cryptography theory.

"A quasi-polynomial algorithm for discrete logarithm in finite fields of small characteristic"

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.4244.pdf

What a fun title! This paper talks about a way to reduce the complexity of the Discrete Logarithm Problem (DLP) in certain situations. DLP is finding the inverse of the equation that sits at the foundation of both the Diffie Hellman and RSA crypto algorithms. These algorithms are at the heart of Internet security.

This paper is really just an excuse to geek out about asymmetric cryptography. We'll go over the Diffie Hellman and RSA algorithms in some detail, and see why a solution to the DLP would be so upsetting.

Don't use your browser until you read this paper! (Well, OK. You can use it.)