Key Ideas: Cryptography and the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

If you use the internet, you rely on mathematical algorithms to securely transmit your private data over public networks. In this episode, Noah describes an encryption scheme he made up in high school, which leads to a discussion about how computers securely exchange encryption keys today. It all ends up with Noah getting Pete to put his money where his math is, by accepting an interesting decoding challenge.

• Encrypted passage to decode

• Diffie and Hellman's original paper: New Directions in Cryptography

• Leave us a voice message• Email us • Follow us on Twitter Questions Answered in the Episode: • What is the Diffie-Hellman key exchange? • How does modular arithmetic function as the mathematical foundation for modern encryption?