[826] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
RE: elliptic curve
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (A. Padgett Peterson P.E. Informati)
Wed May 14 23:01:51 1997
Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 22:46:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: "A. Padgett Peterson P.E. Information Security" <PADGETT@hobbes.orl.mmc.com>
To: smcdonal@iol.ie
CC: cryptography@c2.net
>Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts about elliptic curve & whether it
>really blows RSA away -- I'm a tech writer (passing familiarity w/
>encryption technologies) doing a quick news piece for an Irish Internet
>magazine.
Would not say it "blows RSA away" any more than a Metro blows a London bus
away - both will get you to the same place, the big difference is "where
do you park it ?".
Above is not as flip as it sounds when certificates are going to be vying for
space in smart cards since a certificate must be at least as long as the key
used to protect it. With smart cards typically in the 8k range, this means
possibly 8 1024 bit certificates. If you use 256 bit EC keys, well, you
can store more, possibly as many as 32.
Since SET will probably increase the number of acceptors, this will be
important - true memory sizes will increase under pressure but still...
Another factor in the US is the avoidance of the RSA patents - why El Gamal
is becoming popular in the last days of the basic patents covering asymmetric
keying but this is not a major factor. Size is.
So as far as strength is concerned, both seem to be "Good Enough" (C) which is
the primary "must be". In the end though, I expect the decider to be how many
you can park in the available space.
Warmly,
Padgett
