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====== Security of 1024bit RSA cryptography in the mid-term ======

The security of RSA cryptography relies on the integer factorization problem. Since the invention of the RSA algorithm, research on integer factorization has gained interest from governments and research institutions due to the consequences at stake should the security of the RSA algorithm becomes compromised.



===== The RSA integer factorization challenge =====

[[http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/|RSA Laboratories]] of EMC, the company founded by the inventors of the RSA public-key cryptosystem have initiated [[http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/node.asp?id=2094|a challenge]] for factoring RSA integers of various lengths. The goal of this challenge was to provide an indication of the strength of the RSA algorithm given the computation power available in average research/government institutions nowadays.



===== Latest developments on RSA integer factorization =====
 
On December 12, 2009, a team of European researchers factored the 768-bit, 232-digit number RSA-768. The number RSA-768 was taken from the  RSA Challenge list as a representative 768-bit. This result is a record for factoring general integers.


The researchers say that factoring a 1024-bit RSA modulus would be about a thousand times harder, and a 768-bit RSA modulus is several thousands times harder to factor than a 512-bit one. Because the first factorization of a 512-bit RSA modulus was reported only a decade ago it is not unreasonable to expect that 1024-bit RSA moduli can be factored well within the next decade by an academic effort such as this one. For this reason, the researchers recommend that it would be prudent to phase out usage of 1024-bit RSA within the next three to four years.




===== References =====

**http://eprint.iacr.org/2010/006.pdf**



{{tag>security reference}}


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