Researchers have developed a new classical computing method that can break the RSA cryptosystem. This technique allows for signature forgery, a different approach to compromising RSA keys compared to the traditional method of factoring large integers. The discovery has surprised cryptographers who previously believed factoring was the only way to break RSA.
The new method significantly reduces the computational resources needed to break RSA. Previously, computing valid RSA digital signatures was thought to require first factoring the private key, a process estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars for a single 1024-bit key using resources comparable to large tech companies or government agencies. This new approach makes the breakage of 1024-bit RSA more achievable than previously estimated.
While the immediate practical threat is low, the research indicates that the method reduces the security of 1024-bit RSA to an unacceptably low threshold. Furthermore, it impacts 2048-bit and 4096-bit keys, bringing their security levels below the 128-bit minimum recommended by organizations like the National Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Widely used RSA implementations are currently safe, and the attack against deprecated 1024-bit keys still requires substantial computational power.
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New research has uncovered a novel classical computing method that significantly reduces the security level of the RSA cryptosystem by enabling signature forgery without factoring. This method decreases the computational resources required to break RSA keys by orders of magnitude, making 1024-bit RSA breakage more feasible and reducing the security of 2048-bit and 4096-bit keys to unacceptable levels.