[ Thanks to Chris
Pallack for this link. ]
“In this interview Vincent Rijmen talks about the
development of the Rijndael algorithm, his selection as the NIST
algorithm of choice for AES, thoughts on Linux and security, and
the future of Internet security.“
“Rijndael takes its name from its creators’ last names, and beat
out finalists including those from IBM, RSA, Counterpane, and the
Serpent algorithm developed by a group of European cryptographers.
AES will soon replace DES as the standard algorithm for encrypting
sensitive data. It has been reported that even a machine capable of
breaking the old DES standard in a second would take some 149
trillion years to crack the proposed AES’s lowest level of
security.”
“LinuxSecurity.com: Can you describe your background? What did
you first do when you discovered your algorithm was selected?”
“Vincent Rijmen: I am an electronics engineer. I have a PhD in
applied sciences. The NIST press release site has my bio.”
“When the phone call from NIST came, I told my wife and my
collegues and we went out for a drink.”
“Like so many young boys, I was fascinated by computers. And
then I happened to study at the university K.U.Leuven, which
happened to have one of Europe’s leading research groups in
cryptography and I got the opportunity to get a scholarship
there… It all happened without really considering all the
consequences on my `career path’.”