[Datenschleuder] [47]    The Internet Factor

The Internet Factor In a computational tour de force that could affect the security of the information superhighway, a team of computer scientists has solved a longstanding mathematical problem: finding the prime factors of a 129-digit composite number. When the puzzle was originally posed in 1977 by cryptographers trying to demonstrate the power of a new encryption system, scientists estimated it would take 40 quadrillion years to solve. But by using the Internet to divide the numbercrunching task among 1,600 computers, a team of volunteers managed to crack the code in just eight months. Corporations and government may now have to shore up their systems for transmitting sensitive information. TIME magazine, May 9, 1994.

[Datenschleuder] [47]    The Internet Factor