[604] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: The unmentionable algorithm
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (William H. Geiger III)
Mon Apr 21 13:30:02 1997
From: "William H. Geiger III" <whgiii@amaranth.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 97 02:27:01 -0500
To: jamesd@echeque.com
In-Reply-To: <199704200502.WAA07323@proxy2.ba.best.com>
Cc: Steven Bellovin <smb@research.att.com>, coderpunks@toad.com,
cryptography@c2.net
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In <199704200502.WAA07323@proxy2.ba.best.com>, on 04/19/97 at 08:02 AM,
jamesd@echeque.com said:
>If an algorithm is complex, then any crack must be complex. Therefore
>there is a high likelihood that a crack has merely not yet been found.
>With a simple algorithm, if a crack has not yet been found, it is likely
>there is no crack.
While the above may seem to make sense it is not true.
All one can tell from the complexity of an algorithm is the complexity of
that algorithm. A complex algorithm may have a very simple crack to it
while a simple algorithm may have a quite complex crack to it.
At best all we can say for a simple algorithm over a complex one is there
is less chance of error in implementation and errors in logic are easier to
find.
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