DLP DLP DLP

DLP, or Discrete Logarithm Problem, has an equation used in cryptography.

The equation is:

y = g^x mod p

Where y, g, x and p are all integers, and g and p are large primes, like 35201546659608842026088328007565866231962578784643756647773109869245232364730066609837018108561065242031153677 or 14083359469338511572632447718747493405040362318205860500297736061630222431052998057250747900577940212317413063.

Now, with the value of g, x, and p known, computers can easily calculate for y. The question is, given y, g, and p, can computers calculate for x, with a million years and million computers at our disposal?

Now, for a little bit of in-depth information on the discrete logarithm problem, let’s look at discrete logarithms.

Logarithms. Pretty easy to understand, for x^y = z with known values of x and z, to figure out y, log_x z can be used. In any group G, b^k can be defined for all integers k, and the discrete logarithm of log_b a is an integer k where b^k = a.

The question of DLP in computer science is defined as: “Can the discrete logarithm be computed in polynomial time on a classical computer.

The information above is provided by Wikipedia and Unsolved Problems.

I’ve got a special post for tomorrow.