To: rc5-announce@llamas.net
From: David McNett <nugget@slacker.com>
Subject: [rc5-announce] The unknown message is...
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It is a great privilege and we are excited to announce that at 13:25=20
GMT on 19-Oct-1997, we found the correct solution for RSA Labs=92 RC5-
32/12/7 56-bit secret-key challenge. Confirmed by RSA Labs, the key=20
0x532B744CC20999 presented us with the plaintext message for which we=20
have been searching these past 250 days.
The unknown message is: It=92s time to move to a longer key length
In undeniably the largest distributed-computing effort ever, the=20
Bovine RC5 Cooperative (http://www.distributed.net/), under the=20
leadership of distributed.net, managed to evaluate 47% of the=20
keyspace, or 34 quadrillion keys, before finding the winning key. At=20
the close of this contest our 4000 active teams were processing over=20
7 billion keys each second at an aggregate computing power equivalent=20
to more than 26 thousand Pentium 200=92s or over 11 thousand PowerPC=20
604e/200=92s. Over the course of the project, we received block=20
submissions from over 500 thousand unique IP addresses.
The winning key was found by Peter Stuer <peter@dinf.vub.ac.be> with=20
an Intel Pentium Pro 200 running Windows NT Workstation, working for=20
the STARLab Bovine Team coordinated by Jo Hermans=20
<Jo.Hermans@vub.ac.be> and centered in the Computer Science=20
Department (DINF) of the Vrije Universiteit (VUB) in Brussels,=20
Belgium. (http://dinf.vub.ac.be/bovine.html/). Jo=92s only comments=20
were that "$1000 will buy a lot of beer" and that he wished that the=20
solution had been found by a Macintosh, the platform that represented=20
the largest portion of his team=92s cracking power. Congratulations=20
Peter and Jo!
Of the US$10000 prize from RSA Labs, they will receive US$1000 and=20
plan to host an unforgettable party in celebration of our collective=20
victory. If you=92re anywhere near Brussels, you might want to find=20
out when the party will be held. US$8000, of course, is being=20
donated to Project Gutenberg (http://www.promo.net/pg/) to assist=20
them in their continuing efforts in converting literature into=20
electronic format for the public use. The remaining US$1000 is being=20
retained by distributed.net to assist in funding future projects.
Equally important are the thanks, accolades, and congratulations due=20
to all who participated and contributed to the Bovine RC5-56 Effort! =20
The thousands of teams and tens of thousands of individuals who have=20
diligently tested key after key are the reason we are so successful.
The thrill of finding the key more than compensates for the sleep,=20
food, and free time that we=92ve sacrificed!
Special thanks go to all the coders and developers, especially Tim=20
Charron, who has graciously given his time and expertise since the=20
earliest days of the Bovine effort. Thanks to all the coordinators=20
and keyserver operators: Chris Chiapusio, Paul Chvostek, Peter=20
Denitto, Peter Doubt, Mishari Muqbil, Steve Sether, and Chris=20
Yarnell. Thanks to Andrew Meggs, Roderick Mann, and Kevyn Shortell=20
for showing us the true power of the Macintosh and the strength of=20
its users. We=92d also like to thank Dave Avery for attempting to=20
bridge the gap between Bovine and the other RC5 efforts.
Once again, a heartfelt clap on the back goes out to all of us who=20
have run the client. Celebrations are in order. I=92d like to invite=20
any and all to join us on the EFNet IRC network channel #rc5 for=20
celebrations as we regroup and set our sights on the next task. Now=20
that we=92ve proven the limitations of a 56-bit key length, let=92s go=20
one further and demonstrate the power of distributed computing! We=20
are, all of us, the future of computing. Join the excitement as the=20
world is forced to take notice of the power we=92ve harnessed.
Moo and a good hearty laugh.
Adam L. Beberg - Client design and overall visionary
Jeff Lawson - keymaster/server network design and morale booster
David McNett - stats development and general busybody
=20
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-/\/ugget
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