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### Asymmetric keys (e.g. RSA) must be so much longer than symmetric keys (e.g. AES). Why? [duplicate]

I have been reading that RSA has to do with math (prime numbers), while symmetric key encryption deals with blocks of data and modifying the blocks with replacements and remappings, but I still don't ...
6k views

### How long does it take to crack RSA 1024 with a PC?

Using an Intel Core i5 CPU, how long does it take to crack RSA using a key size of 1024 bit (generated using a secure key pair generation function)? Suppose for instance that we have thousands of ...
888 views

### Is it hypocritical to use AES-256 and RSA 2048 in the same application?

I see a common claim that AES-256 is the gold standard and is good future proofing, often in the same wind as "just use 2048-bit keys for RSA". Security documents seem to recommend both AES-256 and ...
39 views

### To get 128-bit security for RSA, the modulus should be 4096 bits. How was that determined? [duplicate]

My understanding of security level is that for a crypto scheme to have n-bit security means it would take $2^n$ operations to break it. For something like AES with a 128-bit key, it's straight-...
666 views

### Equivalent RSA modulus for NIST P-192 and P-521 elliptic curves [duplicate]

At www.keylength.com, I found the following table of ECC field size and the corresponding RSA modulus recommended by NIST. ECC Modulus RSA Prime Size 160 1024 224 2048 ...
6k views

### Why is it not possible to increase the size of RSA keys indefinitely?

According to this primer on elliptic curves by Ars Technica, when composite numbers get "too" big, they become easier to factorize with Quadratic Sieve and General Number Field Sieve. While this is ...
3k views

### What does “export grade” cryptography mean? And how is this related to the Logjam attack?

I am doing some research on the Logjam attack, and I need help in learning some terms that are new for me. What does "export grade" cryptography mean? And how is this related to the Logjam attack?
4k views

### How many bits of symmetric security does RSA-3072 actually provide? [duplicate]

I know that the sizes are standardized to $1024$, $2048$ etc. but they actually provide different security than $128$, $256$... for example $\texttt{RSA-}2048$ is actually $112$ bits of security and \$...
885 views

### Why are recomended RSA key lengths so high? [duplicate]

I was checking for authoritative sources to back up my recommendation of a minimum RSA key length of 1024 and was shocked to find that NIST 800-56Br1 and FIPS 186-4 both recommend at least 2048 bits ...
3k views

### How do I get the equivalent strength of an ECC key?

I know how to calculate the comparable symmetric strength of an RSA modulus: calculate the running time for a field sieve. This is how NIST gives approximate symmetric sizes for asymmetric algos in ...
4k views

### Recommended password complexity for SSH key encryption using AES-256-CBC

When protecting SSH private keys with password-based encryption, what would be a good minimum password complexity+length standard to make cracking the password too difficult to be worthwhile anytime ...
2k views

### What makes SHA-2 and SHA-3 have security levels half their output hash length?

The tag wiki for sha-256 says, in part: SHA-256 ... processes the input in 512-bit block and has a 256-bit output, for a 128-bit security level. I'm not a cryptographer, just an interested amateur,...
4k views

### ECC vs RSA: how to compare key sizes?

I know and I have understood the details of RSA, elliptic curve cryptography, (EC)DH and (EC)DSA. I keep reading everywhere that (if we don't consider non-deterministic computers) "ECC can achieve ...