Abstract:
The RSA public key code [1, Chapter 12] is the most widely used encryption techniqueinmoderncommunicationnetworks, suchastheInternet. Itssecurity relies on the fact that no known (classical) computer program can efficiently factor large numbers n, which are the product of two (unknown) primes, p1 and p2. Quantum computers, which currently exist only as mathematical models and have not yet been physically built, can perform certain tasks with efficiency that is not matched by standard computers. In this article we will learn how, in theory, one such task can be used to factor n in a reasonable amount of time, thus breaking the RSA code. I studied this algorithm as part of an independent study cryptography course, which I took with Dr. Fischer. This article is a summary of a talk I gave on the subject for the undergraduate colloquium series in August 2002.
