_NSAKEY
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_NSAKEY was a variable name discovered in Windows NT 4 SP5 in 1999 by Andrew D. Fernandes of Cryptonym Corporation. The variable contained a 1024-bit public key; public keys are used in public-key cryptography for encryption and digital signature verification (but not decryption or signing). Because of the name, however, it was speculated that the key would allow the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to subvert any Windows user's security. Microsoft denied the speculation and said that the key's name came from the fact that NSA was the technical review authority for U.S. cryptograph
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Microsoft's reaction
- Further technical information
- Further speculation
- Key values
- PGP keys
- Primary key (_KEY)
- Secondary key (_NSAKEY and _KEY2)
- See also
- References
_NSAKEY was a variable name discovered in Windows NT 4 SP5 in 1999 by Andrew D. Fernandes of Cryptonym Corporation. The variable contained a 1024-bit public key; public keys are used in public-key cryptography for encryption and digital signature verification (but not decryption or signing). Because of the name, however, it was speculated that the key would allow the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to subvert any Windows user's security. Microsoft denied the speculation and said that the key's name came from the fact that NSA was the technical review authority for U.S. cryptography export controls.
== Overview ==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “_NSAKEY” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.