RSA Encryption Challenge: Faster Decoding Method From Filipino Math Whiz

A Filipino math whiz claimed in newspaper reports this week that he had discovered a faster way of decoding RSA's popular encryption algorithm. If proven, the claim will have called into question the validity of what has become, essentially, the . . . A Filipino math whiz claimed in newspaper reports this week that he had discovered a faster way of decoding RSA's popular encryption algorithm. If proven, the claim will have called into question the validity of what has become, essentially, the de facto encryption standard in the computer industry.

RSA, however, has denied the man's claims, saying that the attack he outlined is one of the weaker ones attempted.

"There's no truth at all to this rumor," said Tim Powers, a spokesman for RSA, in Bedford, Mass.

The claims made by a math enthusiast named Leo de Velez were first published on the Manila Bulletin's Web site earlier this week.

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