FlishFun Veteran Posted September 7, 2004 Veteran Share Posted September 7, 2004 Mathematical breakthrough could bring disaster for ecommerceSolution to Riemann hypothesis could crack cryptography Mark Samuels, Computing 07 Sep 2004 Mathematicians are close to solving a 150 year-old theory - and the solution could add up to problems for internet commerce. The Riemann hypothesis, formulated by Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann in 1859, would explain the apparently random pattern of prime numbers. Such numbers are the key to internet cryptography and help banks keep customer's credit card data safe and secure. Louis de Branges, a French-born mathematician at Purdue University in the US, has claimed to have proof of the Riemann hypothesis, according to The Guardian. The hypothesis is one of seven 'millennium problems'. The US-based Clay Mathematics Institute offered $1m (?563,000) to anyone that could solve one of these problems four years ago. De Branges's colleagues, however, are not convinced that ecommerce is finished - yet. 'The proof he has announced is rather incomprehensible. Now mathematicians are less sure that the million has been won," Professor Marcus du Sautoy of Oxford University told The Guardian. But du Sautoy accepts that the proof could have large implications for internet commerce. 'The proof should give us more understanding of how the primes work. If it does, it will bring the whole of ecommerce to its knees, overnight. So there are very big implications.' Source: WhatPC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Prays that everything is worked out alright as I love shopping online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcdShdw Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 why go phucking around with something so old if they think its gonna scew suttin up of they figure it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabureiru Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 why go phucking around with something so old if they think its gonna scew suttin up of they figure it out Because if it exist sooner or later it would come out. :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcdShdw Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 so why keep screwing around with it if they think it will cause problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAD Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 why go phucking around with something so old if they think its gonna scew suttin up of they figure it out Because if you don't figure out the problem, doesn't mean the problem will goes away. If it's true, then we can get on to work on a better replaement. Beside, someone else will eventually figure it out if he (de Branges) doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted September 7, 2004 Global Moderator Share Posted September 7, 2004 muhahaha evil... :shifty: :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOGglee Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 interesting :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANova Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 If they don't figure it out and thus force a drastic change to how ecommerce conducts it's exchanges then imagine the equation falling into the hands of a crook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt26 Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 if this is gonna happen, it best happen after I've bought the DVDs and the computer parts I want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+chorpeac MVC Posted September 7, 2004 MVC Share Posted September 7, 2004 Better go out and make those purchases you have been putting off...or else you won't be able to. If they break the encryption algos, then it is all going to be an open network of credit cards, social security numbers, bank accounts, everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liquid Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 So they're saying that they have solved encrpytion patterns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoDaddy Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Not very likely this will bring e-commerce to its knees, every time someone finds a flaw, they always say it's "the fatal blow". I thought it was quite funny that his proof was considered incomprehensible to people who speak in math. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Post-It Note Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 http://www.math.purdue.edu/~branges/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted September 7, 2004 Veteran Share Posted September 7, 2004 No one is looking at this from a mathematical standpoint, are they? :rolleyes: Forget about what it does to cryptography, we'll find new methods of encryption... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted September 7, 2004 Veteran Share Posted September 7, 2004 Why solve it? Why solve aids? Why solve cancer? Why solve anything mathematical? Ask yourself where Humanity would be if Humanity never asked "why?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+chorpeac MVC Posted September 7, 2004 MVC Share Posted September 7, 2004 No one is looking at this from a mathematical standpoint, are they? :rolleyes:Forget about what it does to cryptography, we'll find new methods of encryption... would explain the apparently random pattern of prime numbers. I'm interested... :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorSA Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 How is it going to bring e-commerce to an end ??? I don't get it ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted September 7, 2004 Veteran Share Posted September 7, 2004 Because, they use random prime calculations to generate encryption, and if they find out why prime numbers are random then they can break the encryption more easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomicski Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 there can always be more ways of encryption....but yes, this is gonna be interesting in what it does to math Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ad345zAdZ0d9_ Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Why on earth have we only relied on one method of encryption (prime numbers) for so many years?? Surley there must be other cryptography meothods in the pipeline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackima Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Why on earth have we only relied on one method of encryption (prime numbers) for so many years?? Surley there must be other cryptography meothods in the pipeline? Because it is one the main ways we have been able to make truley random numbers, now it seems as though not even the distibution of prime numbers are random There willl soon be a point where we have found the pattern in any sequence, thus there will no longer be such a thing as a random number So after that we are all screwed. Now if the guy who made the proof for this just kept his mouth shut, he can screw that crapp ?500,000 ($1 million) prize and just work out everyone's bank account number.....in the world........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antipop Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 All is not lost for cryptography... the principles of quantum computing creates UNBREAKABLE encryption. Not encryption that takes a really really long time to create, but actually is impossible to crack. Check it out @ www.qubit.org . Quantum computing is such a cool concept. I wonder what Doom 0x1d will look like on a 256-bit quantum computer!!! :D EDIT: This is really what 3DR is waiting for prior to releasing Duke Nukem Forever :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderRiver Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 You watched too much movies like "Pi" didn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KebecoiS Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 You watched too much movies like "Pi" didn't you? That movie is so great :) Although he was looking for patterns in the stock market to find 'pi', which is unrealistic, the movie was pretty great :) Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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