Status report on knapsack-based public key cryptosystems
In the period since 1976, when Diffie and Hellman published the first discussion of two-key cryptography to appear in the open literature, only a handful of two-key cryptoalgorithms have been proposed - two of which are based on the knapsack problem. Consequently there was enormous interest when Shamir announced in early 1982 a cryptanalytic technique that could break many Merkle-Hellman knapsacks. In a rapid sequence of developments, Simmons and Brickell, Adleman, and Lagarias all announced other attacks on knapsack-based cryptosystems that were either computationally much more efficient or else directed at other knapsack schemes such as the Graham-Shamir or iterated systems. This paper analyzes the common features of knapsack-based cryptosystems and presents all of the cryptanalytic attacks made in 1982 from a unified viewpoint.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6180916
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-83-0042; ON: DE83010697
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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