Daniel Moore <taihaiteki@dslextreme.com> wrote:

> People talk about "the key length" in discussions of the RSA
> algorithm.
>
> In learning about it at a textbook level I know that an RSA key is a
> pair of integers. (One is used as a power to exponentiate a value and
> ususally labeled e or d, the other as a divisor to then divide the
> result usually labeled n.)
>
> So what does "the key length," as a singular reference, refer to?? For
> example if I hear about a "1024-bit RSA key" what is 1024 bits long?

It is the bit length of the modulus, i.e. if you've got an N bits RSA
key, then the modulus is a number smaller than 2^N.


Regards,
Ertugrul.


--
http://ertes.de/