DES Challenges: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Board300.jpg|thumbnail|right|260px|Part of the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation|EFF]]'s DES cracking machine which was used in two of the challenges]] |
[[Image:Board300.jpg|thumbnail|right|260px|Part of the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation|EFF]]'s DES cracking machine which was used in two of the challenges]] |
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The '''DES Challenges''' were a series of [[brute force attack]] contests created by [[RSA Security]] for the purpose of highlighting the lack of security provided by the [[Data Encryption Standard]]. |
The '''DES Challenges''' were a series of [[brute force attack]] contests created by [[RSA Security]] for the purpose of highlighting the lack of security provided by the [[Data Encryption Standard]]. |
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==The Reaction== |
==The Reaction== |
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Many cryptographers{{ |
Many cryptographers{{Who|date=March 2009}} assumed that once the DES had been shown to be breakable, the Federal Authorities would withdraw the standard, however this didn't happen. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] director Louis Freeh told Congress. "That is not going to make a difference in a kidnapping case. It is not going to make a difference in a national security case. We don't have the technology or the brute force capability to get to this information."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CGN/is_1998_Dec_23/ai_53467087|title=RSA Announces Another Des Cracking Contest|date=1998-12-23|publisher=Computergram International|accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> |
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It wasn't until special purpose hardware brought the time down below 24 hours that both industry and federal authorities had to admit that the DES was no longer viable. Although the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] started work on what became the [[Advanced Encryption Standard]] in 1997, they continued to endorse the DES as late as October 1999, with FIPS 46-3, although [[Triple DES]] was preferred. |
It wasn't until special purpose hardware brought the time down below 24 hours that both industry and federal authorities had to admit that the DES was no longer viable. Although the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] started work on what became the [[Advanced Encryption Standard]] in 1997, they continued to endorse the DES as late as October 1999, with FIPS 46-3, although [[Triple DES]] was preferred. |
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Revision as of 13:04, 27 March 2009
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2009) |
The DES Challenges were a series of brute force attack contests created by RSA Security for the purpose of highlighting the lack of security provided by the Data Encryption Standard.
The Contests
The first challenge began in 1997 and was solved in 96 days by the DESCHALL Project.
DES Challenge II-1 was solved by distributed.net in 41 days in early 1998.
DES Challenge II-2 was solved in just 56 hours in July 1998 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) with their purpose-built Deep Crack machine. The prize for the contest was US$10,000 whilst the machine cost US$250,000 to build. The contest demonstrated how quickly a rich corporation or government agency, having built a similar machine, could decrypt ciphertext encrypted with DES.
DES Challenge III was completed as a joint effort between distributed.net and Deep Crack. The key was found in just 22 hours 15 minutes in January 1999.
The Reaction
Many cryptographers[who?] assumed that once the DES had been shown to be breakable, the Federal Authorities would withdraw the standard, however this didn't happen. FBI director Louis Freeh told Congress. "That is not going to make a difference in a kidnapping case. It is not going to make a difference in a national security case. We don't have the technology or the brute force capability to get to this information."[1]
It wasn't until special purpose hardware brought the time down below 24 hours that both industry and federal authorities had to admit that the DES was no longer viable. Although the National Institute of Standards and Technology started work on what became the Advanced Encryption Standard in 1997, they continued to endorse the DES as late as October 1999, with FIPS 46-3, although Triple DES was preferred.
See also
References
- ^ "RSA Announces Another Des Cracking Contest". Computergram International. 1998-12-23. Retrieved 2008-09-21.