News Release
New Encryption Standard Will Greatly
Impact Electronic Communications
For further information, contact:
Dr. Whitfield Diffie, Sun Microsystems
Telephone: 650-786-6359
March 3, 2000
PROVIDENCE, RI---The Data Encryption Standard is the most widely used public
cryptosystem in the world. DES is used to protect the security of electronic
funds transfers, satellite communications, computer passwords, and a host of
other electronic exchanges that have become commonplace in today's wired world.
DES was created in the mid-1970s and remained secure for much longer than
researchers anticipated. Now, however, a series of experiments have
demonstrated definitively that DES is not strong enough to withstand attacks
made possible by novel code-cracking methods and today's computer power.
In 1997, the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced a
competition for a replacement for DES, to be called the Advanced Encryption
Standard. After receiving submissions from cryptographic researchers all over
the world, NIST narrowed the field to five candidates. This summer, NIST will
make the final selection for AES.
There's a lot riding on the decision, for AES will have a tremendous impact on
the security of electronic communications in the future. And identifying the
best AES candidate is not a clear-cut task. "Though there are many wrong ways
to build a cryptosystem, there is no clear right way," notes Susan Landau in
her article, "Communications Security for the Twenty-first Century: The
Advanced Encryption Standard".
There is no overarching theory that can guarantee that a particular
cryptosystem is strong, and there is no way to be sure that the cryptosystem
can withstand all possible attacks. Certifying the security of a proposed
cryptosystem, Landau writes, "is a journey into the unknown."
In the article, Landau describes the five candidates for AES and the
possibilities and limitations of testing them. She also discusses how the
complex political backdrop of cryptography has influenced research in this
field.
The article, "Communications
Security for the Twenty-first Century: The Advanced Encryption Standard,"
appears in the April 2000 issue of the Notices of the AMS.
Founded in 1999 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the
30,000-member AMS fulfills its mission through programs and services that
promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education,
and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to
other disciplines and to everyday life.
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