Cryptography ain't what it used to be

Computer Scientists Break Security Token Key in Record Time By SOMINI SENGUPTA, NYT

For years private companies and government agencies have given their employees a card or token that produces a constantly changing set of numbers. Those devices became the preferred method of securing confidential communications online. No one could have access to the data without a secret key generated by the device.

Computer scientists say they have now figured out how to extract that key from a widely used RSA electronic token in as little as 13 minutes.

The scientists, who call themselves Team Prosecco, said their experiment can pry open one model of the RSA dongle — the SecurID 800 — as well as similar tools produced by other companies. They published their findings in a research paper to be presented at a cryptography conference in August; the findings were first reported Monday morning by Ars Technica, a technology news site.

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