2009 Number Theory Seminar - 08
- Date: 02/26/2009
University of British Columbia
Rational points on curves and cryptography
I'll discuss some connections between algorithms for finding rational
points on curves and some cryptosystems. Akiyama and Goto have proposed
a cryptosystem based on rational points on curves over function fields
(stated in the equivalent form of sections of fibrations on surfaces).
It is easy to construct a curve passing through a few given points, but
finding the points, given only the curve, is hard. In this talk I will
show how to break their original cryptosystem by using algebraic points
instead of rational points and discuss the possibility of changing
their original system to create a secure one.
4:10pm-5:00pm, WMAX 216