The RSA algorithm works because, when n is sufficiently large, deriving d from a known e and n will be an impractically long calculation — unless we know p, in which case we can use the shortcut ...

Internet security firm RSA warns customers not to use a community-developed encryption algorithm after fears it can be unlocked by the US National Security Agency.

Security researchers have successfully broken one of the most secure encryption algorithms, 4096-bit RSA, by listening -- yes, with a microphone -- to a computer as it decrypts some encrypted data.

The RSA encryption algorithm uses two keys: a public key and a private key. Messages can be encrypted using the public key, but can only be decrypted using the private key.