{
  "id": 6243655,
  "title": "I've factored the RSA keys of a Certificate Authority from the 90s",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/ive-factored-the-rsa-keys-of-a-certificate-authority-from-the-90s-6243655",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-08T01:16:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News Best",
    "slug": "hacker-news-best",
    "url": "https://mcpherrin.ca/2026/09/07/rsa.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A decade ago, the Web PKI phased out the use of 1024-bit RSA keys, yet factoring keys of that size still remains a possibility for governments or organizations with ample computing power. In 1999, Netscape shipped a 512-bit RSA Certificate Authority trusted for SSL, as well as another one for S/MIME. These roots were issued by the defunct Canadian Certificate Authority, E-Certify. Factoring the public keys of these roots enabled the reconstruction of the private keys, which can be used to issue certificates. Using CADO-NFS on a Ryzen 9 5950X desktop, the factorization of the E-Certify RSA 512 Gold Server for SSL took 32 hours, while the E-Certify RSA 512 Gold Client for S/MIME took 29 hours. The resulting private keys are available online, allowing for the creation of an old-timey TLS server in Netscape 4.51. However, this site is only compatible with modern browsers if modified. The 512-bit RSA key for Internet Explorer 3.02, a code signing certificate, has also been factored. Additional test-looking 512-bit RSA keys exist in the ancient roots repository, inviting further exploration and experimentation.",
  "summary": "Article URL: https://mcpherrin.ca/2026/09/07/rsa.html Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49604637 Points: 223 # Comments: 40",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hacker News",
        "title": "I've factored the RSA keys of a Certificate Authority from the 90s",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/ive-factored-the-rsa-keys-of-a-certificate-authority-from-the-90s",
        "published": "2026-09-08T01:16:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}