Factorization Using the Quadratic Sieve Algorithm

Abstract

Since the cryptosecurity of the RSA two key cryptoalgorithm is no greater than the difficulty of factoring the modulus (product of two secret primes), a code that implements the Quadratic Sieve factorization algorithm on the CRAY I computer has been developed at the Sandia National Laboratories to determine as sharply as possible the current state-of-the-art in factoring. Because all viable attacks on RSA thus far proposed are equivalent to factorization of the modulus, sharper bounds on the computational difficulty of factoring permit improved estimates for the size of RSA parameters needed for given levels of cryptosecurity.

Analysis of the Quadratic Sieve indicates that it may be faster than any previously published general purpose algorithm for factoring large integers. The high speed of the CRAY I coupled with the capability of the CRAY to pipeline certain vectorized operations make this algorithm (and code) the front runner in current factoring techniques.

This work performed at Sandia National Laboratories supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC04-76DP00789.