112 bit encryption
Posted on July 15, 2009
Joppe W. Bos and Marcelo E. Kaihara of the École Polytechnique Fédérale (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, have been able to solve the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem for a 112-bit field. They used the computing power of a cluster of PS3's to do the calculations.
Theoretically, the best known algorithm for attacking an 112-bit ECC field requires in the order of 2^56 operations. In the end, 8.5*10^16 curve operations were performed. The authors report their efforts to be in the order of 14 full 56-bit DES key searches, conforming the strength of this key is practically close to that of a single DES key.
More background on http://lacal.epfl.ch/page81774.html