Encryption alone will not secure data, warns expert after code cracks
An encryption method used to keep mobile phone calls secret was cracked in December by a German computer scientist. Last week another form of data encryption, 768-bit RSA encryption, was cracked by researchers who used distributed computing power to process numbers, finding the key to unlock data.
A more secure form of that encryption, 1,024-bit encryption, has not been cracked. The researchers involved said that it would take another decade to crack that encryption.
A storage company has now said that encryption systems will soon no longer be enough to protect data and that information cannot be called secure unless also protected by personal identification numbers (PINs) or biometric systems, which verify identity using biological traits such as fingerprints.
