Gavin Scott <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thomas writes:
> > So being, I have take ownership of a 928 with the purposes of creating a
> > commercially available 128 minimum standards and hope to have
> > something out later this year.
>
> Should not be too hard.
>
> > My former client needs 128 bit, with a public key, to meet HCFA
standards.
>
> This is a rather imprecise specification of your requirements.  For
example,
> I'm aware of no public key algorithms for which 128 bits is a secure key
> size.  Are you aware of how public key cryptography is typically used?

There are (usually) two encryption algorithms used with public-key
encryption.  The public keys are used to exchange random keys that are used
for just one session or one file.  If the inner key is too short, the
message can still be decoded by brute force.   The government has always
allowed 40-bit SSL to be exported, but has been picky about 128-bit SSL.

The HCFA Internet security policy is outlined at
http://www.hcfa.gov/security/isecplcy.htm