Thank you for your excellent response. I laid out my scenario. >> RSA keys have the default maximum length of 8192 set at compile-time. >> Perfect. that was the answer that I was looking for. My "risk scenario" was an attempt to understand the maximum defaults of the current maximum protection available in the standard distributed packages.
>From the position of a data scientist, I am trying to compute the security available. ;) Thank you... 8196 on an RSA key. :) On Fri, May 1, 2020, 12:01 Konstantin Ryabitsev < konstan...@linuxfoundation.org> wrote: > On Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 11:07:11PM -0400, Barry Smith via Gnupg-users > wrote: > > Let me continue by explaining some back up information for my > > question. > > - I am asking in terms of the latest standards implemented in distros and > > Windows .exe auto-install packages. > > - I am trying to create a group calendar file and app for a private > group. > > - Original concept for my project -- use an annual calendar file that has > > December (year minus 1) to January (year plus 1), so 14 months of days. I > > want one keypair per day for the group. > > I'm not sure what kind of risk scenario you're working against, but this > sounds extreme and will probably have all sorts of usability corner > cases. > > > SO, users, help! > > I need to know the absolute longest key that GnuPG can create RIGHT > > NOW. > > It depends on the algorithm. RSA keys have the default maximum length of > 8192 set at compile-time. Elliptic Curve cryptography requires much > shorter keys, so maximums will be different there. > > In general, the length of the key is only part of the picture when we're > talking about encryption "strength." Many cryptographers consider RSA > keys longer than 2048 bits to be a "feel-good security theatre", because > classical computers are not likely to be able to successfully break > 2048-bit keys in the foreseeable future, even given state-level funding. > If/once we get to the point where quantum computers are powerful enough > to defeat 2048-bit RSA, then we should consider all classical public-key > crypto irreversibly compromised (RSA, DSA, ECC, etc) -- longer keypair > lengths will merely buy a bit of time before failing to cryptanalysis. > > So, if you want decent modern-day encryption, use 256-bit ECC keys and > don't worry about key lengths longer than 256 (or 4096 for RSA). > > -K >
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