Chapter 106 The value of genius is still rising
The Times and the New York Times, two well-known media outlets, both reported on this international cryptography conference at some length, especially the news that the MD5 cryptographic algorithm had been cracked.

In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology officially announced that it would no longer use the MD5 password, which caused quite a stir in the cryptography community.

That night.

MIT.

The lights were still on in a professor's office. A middle-aged man with a short gray beard was concentrating on writing something beside a long dark table. His full and even somewhat reflective forehead was the most eye-catching. If Biham were here, he would definitely be able to recognize his identity.

It was Professor Rivest, the designer of the MD5 cryptographic algorithm that had troubled him for more than ten years.

The other party just won the Turing Award in 2002.

Rivest has made many achievements in the fields of cryptography and computers, and is now focusing on education, training outstanding graduate students for the school.

As the clock on the wall ticked, more than half an hour passed before he stopped what he was doing, stood up, walked to the coffee machine in the office, made himself a cup of coffee, and then sat down again to complete the remaining work.

Just as I picked up the pen and was about to write, I heard a knock on the door from outside.

"Please come in."

A man with long brown hair pushed the door open and as soon as he saw Levist, he quickly said, "Old friend, there is something you definitely don't know." Even as he spoke, his thick beard could not hide the surprise on his face.

It was obvious that Levist was no stranger to the visitor.

Hearing this, he raised his eyes and smiled and continued: "What happened to make you so excited?"

"Do you know about the international cryptography conference held in Santa Barbara today?" The other party did not answer directly, but instead asked a question.

"of course."

"They invited me too." Levis nodded.

"Someone announced at the meeting today that they had cracked the MD5 encryption algorithm you designed, and this has been confirmed." The other party took another step forward and said, "The National Institute of Standards and Technology Research has officially announced that they will use a new encryption algorithm to replace the MD5 encryption algorithm."

"The entire cryptography community is very busy right now. Even the Times and the New York Times have reported on it."

When Levisit heard that his MD5 password had been cracked, his first reaction was not surprise but joy. He did not think this was a bad thing at all.

The next second he stood up and asked, "Is the cracker Professor Biham?"

He naturally knew that Biham, the world's top cryptographer, regarded cracking MD5 as his biggest dream. Now that he heard that the MD5 he designed was successfully cracked, he subconsciously thought that it was Biham who accomplished it.

After all, MD5 is his masterpiece, and he knows best how difficult it is to crack.

Not everyone can crack it.

I quickly went through the familiar names in my mind and only Biham was the most likely one.

But the other party shook his head: "It's not Professor Biham."

"The cracker is not Biham..." Levist muttered, and then uttered another name: "Could it be Desmed?"

"neither."

"It's a research team from China." The other party didn't keep the secret any longer and said directly, "The person who gave the report seems to be a college student."

When Levist heard this, his face was immediately replaced by surprise: "They don't seem to have any research in the field of cryptography, but they can successfully crack the MD5 encryption algorithm. This is really incredible." He couldn't believe that this would be the result.

It is definitely a happy thing that someone can crack his MD5 password. After all, finding loopholes can help design more secure passwords.

This has positive significance for the development of social civilization.

But he was well aware that China was rarely seen in the field of international cryptography.

The fact that the MD5 password can now be cracked shows that the other party has made very rapid progress in cryptography research.

While he was thinking about this, he heard his friend say, "The other party has developed a new collision method, and it is this method that was used to crack the MD5 password."

"A new collision method?"

Upon hearing this, Li Weiste immediately became interested. Without caring about communicating, he quickly turned on the computer next to him and logged into the official website of the conference to check the papers.

The friend remained calm upon seeing this and sat down on the chair next to him. It was obvious that he was very familiar with Levister's habit.

I don’t know how much time passed before I saw Levist look away and rub his sore eyes.

But his face was full of surprise.

"genius."

"Whoever figured out this collision method is a genius."

“I really hope to communicate with him face to face. His achievements have promoted the research of hash functions.”

I said these words excitedly to myself, then opened my email to write a letter to the team that cracked the MD5 password, to congratulate them and exchange my insights on hash functions.

……

The international cryptography conference that lasted for several days came to an end. During these days, Xu Yuan, Wang Xiaoyun and others felt the enthusiasm from international cryptography experts for the first time. In addition to taking the initiative to come over to exchange greetings, they even invited Wang Xiaoyun, Ding Jian and others to join their own cryptography research institute.

As for Xu Yuan and Cui Li, they were naturally ignored.

Since one of them is a doctoral student and the other is still studying at university, the outside world would naturally not think that the cracking of MD5 has anything to do with them. But Xu Yuan is also happy to see it.

He would have to worry about his graduation thesis when he returned, and he didn't want to attract too much attention.

Friday, August 2004, 8, Closing Dinner of the International Cryptography Conference.

Professor Wang Xiaoyun was surrounded by a group of world-class cryptographers including Bihamudesmed, and chatted with them for a long time before he was able to get away.

Then he walked over to Xu Yuan who was enjoying his meal and said, "After your lecture, our influence in the cryptography community has greatly increased. This kind of treatment was simply impossible to get before."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan put down the food in his hand, raised his head with a smile on his face, "How is it, Professor Wang? Are you used to being treated so warmly all of a sudden?"

"It was a little bit difficult to adapt at first, but I gained a lot from talking to these world-class scientists." Wang Xiaoyun thought for a moment and replied: "This makes me more confident in designing our own hash function password."

Cracking the world's top MD5 password does not simply prove anything.

What is more important is to find out the gaps and fill them so that our country can also have secure cryptographic algorithms.

Xu Yuan was naturally aware of Wang Xiaoyun's ideals. He could be sure of this just by looking at the fact that she had rejected many invitations from overseas cryptography research institutes in the past two days.

Just as the conference ended and Xu Yuan and his team were preparing to return to Yanjing, the news that Wang Xiaoyun's team had cracked the MD5 encryption algorithm finally spread in the country.

Official agencies such as China News Service reported on the incident.

Corresponding news articles can also be seen on platforms such as Sina and Sohu.

Before attending this International Cryptography Conference, domestic research on hash functions can only be described as zero.

That they have now become an authority in cryptography is naturally something worth celebrating and promoting, but soon someone discovered that there was a familiar figure in the cracking team.

-

Since the news that Xu Yuan solved the Carmichael number interval problem caused widespread discussion, there are many fans of Xu Yun in the Tianya community. When they saw that Xu Yuan actually went to California to attend the International Cryptography Conference and cracked the MD5 algorithm, they naturally forwarded the news as soon as possible.

"Qinghua student Xu Yuanji proved the Carmichael number spacing problem and cracked the world's top MD5 encryption algorithm again. A photo of the report is attached."

When friends in the forum saw this new post, they were naturally attracted to click in to check it out.

I thought it was amazing that Xu Yuan solved number theory problems right after entering university, but I didn't expect that he would enter the field of cryptography just one year later and even cracked the MD5 algorithm.

Pride and pride instantly boiled in my blood, and I immediately left a message to express my feelings at the moment.

"Is this the realm of genius? He just became famous in the field of number theory, and then he turned around and ran into cryptography. The key is that he even cracked someone's MD5 password."

"The front row worships the great god."

"After a year, Master Xu gave a lecture on stage again, and I'm still posting to him every day."

"I just looked it up and found that many overseas media outlets have reported on this incident. It seems to be quite a sensation."

"As expected of Qinghua's talented person."

"The value of genius is still rising. I suddenly miss Mr. Wu. I wonder what he would think when he sees this news."

……

Of course, there are questions among the rapidly growing posts, but they are quickly answered by those who are more knowledgeable in the community, and the heat of the discussion on this matter is still rising.

"I remember that he studied mathematics. Why did he go to study cryptography?"

“Can someone explain MD5 to me?”

"Even if I switch to cryptography, I won't be able to learn much in such a short time, right?"

"The Carmichael number gap problem proved by Xu Yuan is helpful for the study of cryptography. It is normal for him to be invited to participate in the cracking of MD5 password. And judging from the fact that Xu Yuan was the main speaker of the report, he probably made a very great contribution to the project team."

“This fills a gap in our knowledge of hash functions, and it’s something worth reporting on.”

at the same time.

A residential area in Yanjing City.

In the room, Chen Yuran squatted on a chair, not caring at all about her little feet exposed to the air. She stared at the computer screen in front of her and moved the mouse with her right hand.

His face was full of joy and happiness.

"I just followed the professor to attend an exchange meeting, but he actually went on stage to report on cracking the MD5 password algorithm." Chen Yuran looked at the news content and muttered quietly: "But Xu Yuan is really amazing."

Just as she was becoming more and more immersed in admiration, she heard a familiar voice suddenly coming from behind her.

"What are you looking at, Yu Ran?"

"dad."

Chen Yuran responded and said somewhat boastfully: "A junior in our school just cracked the MD5 password algorithm. Isn't that amazing?"

Hearing his daughter's words, Chen Jianfang leaned closer with curiosity. After seeing the name on it, he muttered to himself, "Xu Yuan from Qinghua University. I think I heard someone mention this name in the academy."

……

(End of this chapter)