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Re: Layman's explanation for limits on escrowed encryption ...
On Fri, 24 May 1996, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote:
> Hmm.... what were the normal key-length recommendations again? This
> appears to imply that the NSA can break at least 64-bit, and probably 80-bit,
> encryption. How does this translate into public key lengths? E.g., how many
> normal bits is a 1024-bit PGP key equivalent to?
> -Allen
The normal key-length recommendation was 96 bits. 64 bits and 80 bits are
equivalent to 512 bits and 768 bits respectively. I would guess that a
1024-bit key is about as strong as an 96-bit key. The first two numbers are
from _Applied Cryptography_; my estimate is an extrapolation from the data in
AC.
-- Mark
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