Re: Weakness in RSA

From: Paul Rubin (phr-n2003b@NOSPAMnightsong.com)
Date: 02/05/03 

From: Paul Rubin <phr-n2003b@NOSPAMnightsong.com>
Date: 05 Feb 2003 01:19:22 -0800

Bryan Olson <fakeaddress@nowhere.org> writes:
> Was there any actual use of public-key cryptography before 1981?

I seem to recall the first deployment of public key cryptography was
right around then. It was at Sandia National Labs and had something
to do with safeguarding nuclear material. The algorithm was RSA and
the modulus length was 336 bits. Oops.

IIRC, the above story is from Diffie's well-known article "The First
Ten Years of Public-Key Cryptoraphy". But it might have been in
another article by Gus Simmons in his collection "Contemporary
Cryptology". It's been a while since I've looked at that book.

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