Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman (RSA)

Question 1

Who are the inventors of the RSA encryption algorithm?

Answer 1

Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman.

Question 2

What does the ‘RSA’ in RSA encryption stand for?

Answer 2

It stands for the initials of its inventors: Rivest, Shamir, Adleman.

Question 3

In what year was the RSA algorithm invented?

Answer 3

1977.

Question 4

What is the RSA algorithm used for?

Answer 4

It is used for secure communication over unsecured networks.

Question 5

What is a key feature of public-key cryptography?

Answer 5

It allows secure communication without needing to share a private key in advance.

Question 6

Which algorithm divides a secret into parts, only reconstructable with a threshold of parts?

Answer 6

Shamir Secret Sharing algorithm.

Question 7

Who is credited with pioneering DNA computing?

Answer 7

Leonard Adleman.

Question 8

What problem did RSA encryption help solve in the 1970s?

Answer 8

It solved the problem of secure communication over the emerging internet.

Question 9

What were the backgrounds of Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman?

Answer 9

Rivest is from New York, Shamir is from Israel, and Adleman is from California.

Question 10

What institution is Ron Rivest associated with?

Answer 10

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Question 11

Where did Adi Shamir study and later work as a professor?

Answer 11

Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Question 12

Which US university did Leonard Adleman become a professor at?

Answer 12

University of Southern California (USC).

Question 13

What is Leonard Adleman famous for coining?

Answer 13

The term ‘computer virus.’

Question 14

Fill in the blank: RSA encryption is still widely used today for securing ________.

Answer 14

Data transmissions.

Question 15

What are some protocols that use RSA encryption?

Answer 15

SSL/TLS protocols.

Question 16

What was one major challenge faced by Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman after inventing RSA?

Answer 16

US government restrictions on exporting cryptographic technology.

Question 17

Fill in the blank: Adi Shamir invented the _______ Secret Sharing algorithm.

Answer 17

Shamir.

Question 18

What key achievement did Ron Rivest make beyond RSA?

Answer 18

He developed cryptographic algorithms like MD5, RC4, and RC6.

Question 19

What is a funny fact about the RSA algorithm’s original name idea?

Answer 19

They jokingly considered reversing the initials to ‘ASR,’ which would sound like ‘ass-er.’

Question 20

Fill in the blank: RSA encryption was invented during the early days of the _______.

Answer 20

Digital age.

Question 21

What breakthrough allowed the RSA algorithm to be invented?

Answer 21

The realization that factoring large prime numbers could be used as a one-way function for encryption.

Question 22

Which algorithm did Ron Rivest invent that is commonly used in secure voting systems?

Answer 22

MD5.

Question 23

What is Adi Shamir ironically bad at despite being a cryptography expert?

Answer 23

Remembering passwords.

Question 24

Fill in the blank: Leonard Adleman’s work in _______ computing opened new interdisciplinary research fields.

Answer 24

DNA.

Question 25

What major societal advancement did the RSA algorithm contribute to?

Answer 25

It helped enable secure online transactions like e-commerce and online banking.

Question 26

Fill in the blank: The RSA algorithm enables secure communication without sharing a ______ key in advance.

Answer 26

Private.

Question 27

Who first coined the term ‘computer virus’?

Answer 27

Leonard Adleman.

Question 28

Fill in the blank: The RSA algorithm allows secure communication over ______ networks.

Answer 28

Unsecured.

Question 29

How is Ron Rivest contributing to election security?

Answer 29

Through his work on secure voting systems.

Question 30

What was the main cryptographic challenge in the 1970s that RSA addressed?

Answer 30

The need for secure communication without exchanging private keys.

Question 31

Fill in the blank: Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman were awarded the _______ for their contributions to cryptography.

Answer 31

Turing Award.