The Foundation of Modern Cryptography: Prime Factors and Trapdoor Functions 🔐

Trapdoor functions have proven fairly difficult to find. Most modern cryptosystems—​including RSA—​are based on factoring. Given two very large prime numbers it is easy to multiply them together to create a third number that has only two factors. But given that third number it is very hard to determine what it’s two factors are. This asymmetry is the basis of modern cryptography and most of our online security. If anyone ever determines how to quickly factor huge numbers, it will have enormous and incredibly disruptive societal consequences.

Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).

Part of the https://www.internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.