Re: Bank transactions on Internet

[Steve Reid <steve@edmweb.com>]

> Is it really that easy to break 40-bit? Don't you need access to a "fair
> amount of cpu power" to brute force crack 40bit? 

I remember reading a recent paper at this URL:
  http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~rivest/bsa-final-report.ascii
They mentioned a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), specifically a
board-mounted AT&T Orca chip available for around $400. They said it could
crack a 40-bit key in 5 hours (average). Sounds like anyone with root
access on a major internet node could make a significant profit stealing
credit card numbers.

The FPGA sounds like a very interesting device, with quite a few
legitimate uses... Has anyone out there seen one of these? 

(((cloaked sig file)))