Year: 2009
Type: preprint
Abstract: We revisit Fermat's factorization method for a positive integer $n$ that is a product of two primes $p$ and $q$. Such an integer is used as the modulus for both encryption and decryption operations of an RSA cryptosystem. The security of RSA relies on the hardness of factoring this modulus. As a consequence of our analysis, two variants of Fermat's approach emerge. We also present a comparison between the two methods' effective regions. Though our study does not yield a new state-of-the-art algorithm for integer factorization, we believe that it reveals some interesting observations that are open for further analysis.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Gupta, Sounak, Paul, Goutam
Institution: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1520824200