Chapter 96 Aviation Industry Review and Discussion Meeting

"When Professor Wang first talked about letting you participate in MD5 password cracking, I was a little worried that you would drag them down, but I didn't expect that you would make such rapid progress in learning hash functions."

"Now I have helped Professor Wang make such great progress. I underestimated your talent in other areas."

Tang Shihong paused for a few seconds to calm himself down, and then spoke these to Xu Yuan with great emotion.

When Wang Xiaoyun found him and the department head Liao Fangyi, they were not optimistic about this so-called cooperation between the two major universities at first.

The main reason is that Xu Yuan did show outstanding talent in mathematics, and the sieve method he used to prove the Carmichael number interval problem can indeed be used in the field of cryptography.

But Xu Yuan had no previous exposure to cryptography, and it was not easy for him to learn hash functions based on his mathematical foundation.

Joining Wang Xiaoyun's project team will not have any effect in the short term.

It will only slow down the progress of cracking.

After discussion between Wang Xiaoyun and Liao Fangyi, they concluded that the country was indeed in urgent need of experts in cryptography.

Especially in the area of ​​hash functions, there is a blank.

That’s why we agreed to let Xu Yuan join the project to learn hash functions and try to make up for the lack of relevant talents.

Now it seems that Wang Xiaoyun's vision can only be described as sharp. He actually saw Xu Yuan's talent in cryptography in advance.

In just a few short months, Xu Yuan not only mastered the hash function but also developed a new collision method. Judging from the current situation, it is estimated that the MD5 cryptographic algorithm will be cracked.

With his thoughts lingering here, Tang Shihong couldn't help but feel a little more envious of Wang Xiaoyun.

After all, once the news of cracking the MD5 password is announced, it is bound to cause a stir in the entire international cryptography field.

It has great academic significance.

It even involves the security of network communications, military, etc.

Thinking of this, he even considered starting a project of proving difficult mathematical problems himself.

Then let Xu Yuan get involved.

However, he knew that Xu Yuan was still an undergraduate student and had a lot to learn about the vast and complex knowledge in mathematics. If he wanted to truly participate in or even lead a project, he would have to wait until he became a graduate student.

Besides, difficult mathematical problems are not so easy to prove, otherwise they would not have remained unsolved for so long.

This has left mathematicians all over the world at a loss.

For example, in the millennium, the Clay Mathematics Institute proposed seven difficult mathematical problems in the world, promising to reward mathematicians who proved these problems with a million-dollar bonus for each problem.

I don’t know how many mathematicians are attracted to it.

"Cracking the MD5 password algorithm will help us design our own hash function password."

“Understanding the loopholes will lead to perfection.”

"So I really hope to be able to crack the MD5 password as soon as possible."

In response to Tang Shihong's praise, Xu Yuan thought for a moment and then expressed his true thoughts.

Secure cryptographic algorithms play a vital role in both people's lives and national security.

However, China currently does not have its own hash function password.

Now that he has accidentally become involved in cryptography and has developed a method of efficient collision attack, he naturally wants to design a cryptographic algorithm that is more secure than MD5.

Tang Shihong also supported Xu Yuan's idea, and then he thought of something more hopeful and responded.

"It seems that an international cryptography academic conference will be held in August this year, and Professor Wang should lead a team to participate then."

"If we can successfully crack the MD5 password before then, I believe it will definitely send a bombshell to the international cryptography community. Even the Bureau of Standards and Technology will probably be dumbfounded on the spot."

Xu Yuan naturally knew about the world's authoritative conference in the field of cryptography, but whether he could catch up depended on the progress of the project team.

Tang Shihong was obviously aware of this as well, so he stopped talking and changed the subject the next second.

"There is one more thing I want to tell you."

"Now it's time for you to think about your graduation thesis. It would be unacceptable if it's much worse than your last thesis."

"I guess there will be a lot of people attending your defense then."

"Graduation thesis?" Xu Yuan repeated, seeming a little surprised.

The main reason was that he always felt that he had just entered college, and there was no need to think about graduation thesis and defense so early, which were things that would only be considered after graduation.

But now that Tang Shihong reminded him of this, he suddenly felt that he should really pay attention to it.

After all, he must graduate early during his undergraduate studies. If he completes all professional credits next year, he must determine the direction and content of his thesis at least in the second half of this year.

In addition, what Tang Shihong said also makes sense.

He solved the Carmichael number spacing problem as soon as he entered university and published his first paper in the Annals of Mathematics.

It is equivalent to raising the starting point very high.

As my graduation thesis, if the content is too simple, it is easy to cause criticism from others.

Although it may not be possible to prove Carmichael numbers, it has to be reasonable.

Thinking of this, he immediately expressed his opinion.

"Once I have completed all the professional courses, I will choose a suitable direction to write my graduation thesis."

"I believe that many people in the Mathematics Council will be looking forward to your graduation thesis." Tang Shihong nodded and replied jokingly with a smile on his face.

When the number theory academic conference was held, many domestic mathematics professors were invited to participate.

Everyone must be quite interested in the graduation thesis of Xu Yuan, a mathematical genius.

Xu Yuan was a little amused when he heard this. He didn't expect that he felt so much pressure suddenly when he hadn't even decided on the direction of his thesis.

However, as the saying goes, pressure brings motivation, which can better inspire him to complete this challenge. In the following time, Xu Yuan did not stay with Tang Shihong for long. He said something and got up and left to return to the dormitory.

……

……

As the new semester gradually got on track, Xu Yuan's life at school also became more rhythmic.

Apart from occasionally attending a few courses of interest, I would go to the library during the day to review complex functions and partial differential equations, etc., hoping to master all undergraduate professional courses as quickly as possible.

This way I can focus on studying my thesis in the second half of the year.

At night, he stayed in the discussion room and continued to cooperate with Wang Xiaoyun's team to crack the MD5 algorithm.

Because of the use of a new collision method, the progress of cracking the panel increased rapidly with the joint efforts of everyone.

In the blink of an eye, it is March and the progress bar has reached 50%.

It is also worth mentioning that Xu Yuan often meets Chen Yuran from the Journalism Department in the library.

And I also know that the other person's attention is not on the book.

From their first meeting to clarifying misunderstandings and accepting interviews, as well as the communication and dinner at the New Year's Eve party, it can be said that the relationship between them is very familiar and harmonious.

Although we are still at the stage of being good friends, I always feel that we understand each other's thoughts.

That's why we understand each other tacitly and get along in a special way.

Although he didn't know when this layer of window paper would be broken, at least Xu Yuan felt pretty good now.

Wednesday, March 2004, 3, Qinghua University cafeteria.

Xu Yuan and Chen Yuran sat next to each other upstairs.

Today Chen Yuran was wearing plain clothes and still had her signature side ponytail on her head.

Although the two of them were eating their own food, they were talking and laughing with bright smiles on their faces.

It’s not that Xu Yuan abandoned his roommates again. It’s mainly because when Li Zhenya and the others learned that the senior from the Journalism Department was also there, they were very considerate and asked the three of them to go to other food windows to get food.

"Sister Lan asked me if I was having dinner with you, and I told her I was eating out."

Chen Yuran glanced at the screen of her mobile phone at this time, turned her head with a sweet smile and said something to Xu Yuan, then closed the phone and put it next to the table.

Although she had never talked about her relationship with Xu Yuan in the dormitory, Yu Ruilan, the oldest student in the dormitory, took it very seriously.

Every time she was asked whether she had gone to see Xu Yuan, she felt a little embarrassed.

So sometimes she would hide it.

Xu Yuan was too busy with work in his previous life to start a family, but at least he had full marks in theoretical knowledge.

He is confident that he can compete with Li Zhenya in this regard.

Combined with what happened at the New Year’s Eve party, it was clear that Yu Ruilan wanted to bring them together.

But since he and Chen Yuran both like their current relationship, there is no need to talk too much.

The most anticipated and unforgettable thing about love in college is the period when both parties have feelings for each other and are committed to each other. It would be more warm and comfortable than it is now when the passionate love period really comes.

In short, just let it be.

Just as Xu Yuan was about to answer the call, the cell phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

I had to stop and take out my cell phone.

When he saw that the caller ID showed Professor Xu Chongxing, he immediately pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

Chen Yuran was very considerate and remained silent, for fear of disturbing Xu Yuan's conversation with others.

"Professor Xu."

"What do you find me for?"

I took the initiative to say hello, and the next second I heard a familiar voice coming from the other end of the microphone.

"Come to my place later to discuss the aerodynamic layout plan."

When Xu Yuan heard this, his heart moved immediately. He agreed, ended the call, and turned back to talk to Chen Yuran.

"Professor Xu from the Department of Engineering Mechanics is here to see me. I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the library to read this afternoon."

"It's ok."

"You should take care of your own things first. Sister Lan and the others just happened to say that I will not participate in dormitory activities these days." Chen Yuran met Xu Yuan's gaze and said with a smile.

Judging from what Xu Chongxing said on the phone, it seems that there is some progress on the latest generation of stealth fighter project.

Xu Yuan naturally did not delay this. After finishing his meal and parting with Chen Yuran, he went to Xu Chongxing's office.

As soon as I knocked on the door and pushed it open, I heard Xu Chongxing explaining with a bright smile on his face.

"Academician Song just sent me news."

"Tomorrow morning, a review and demonstration meeting on the next generation of fighter jets will be held at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China headquarters to decide whether to develop the latest generation of stealth fighter jets or upgrade the existing fighter jet models."

"Several aircraft design institutes under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China will be present to attend the meeting."

"Academician Song hopes that you can represent Jincheng and persuade everyone to agree to the project of the latest generation of stealth fighter."

It was true that Xu Yuan had known that this would happen, but he felt somewhat pressured when he thought about the presence of so many experts from the Aircraft Design Institute on the scene.

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(End of this chapter)