Title: Elliptic Curves and the Surveillance State
Speaker: Paul VanKoughnett
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Abstract:
In the 2000s, the National Security Agency secretly inserted backdoors into widely-used cryptographic standards, allowing them access to untold amounts of encrypted digital communication. We will investigate the mathematics that made this possible. The talk will be followed by a short discussion on ethics for mathematicians in modern society -- bring questions, ideas, and opinions!Date: Thursday, February 13, 2014