For the first time, an encryption key of 768 bits long has been broken ...

Currently, the key is longer than can be achieved with the RSA algorithm reaches 768 bits. While no one had been able to uncover the secrets hidden behind such a key, this is no longer the case since a team of researchers has announced its success in breaking such a key. It took two and a half years to achieve this result, and the equivalent of 1700 cores operating at full power for one year. The previous record dated from four years ago and involved an RSA key of 663 bits.

2048 bits or anything?

French researchers from INRIA participated in the project, with partners in Switzerland, Japan, Holland and Germany. The National Security Information Systems (ANSSI) considers it necessary to use longer key whose length is less than 2048 bits. For its part the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) U.S. sets the limit to 1024 bits. The lifetime of the keys of 2048 bits could be 20 years, even if such period is to be taken lightly. By 2030, it will then move to a length of 3072 bits, this leaves us a little time.