A self-taught programmer decided a cryptographic puzzle that could not be guessed for over 20 years

To solve the cryptographic problem, it was necessary to perform a sequential

squaring the original number 80 trillion times.

Fabro could do it on a regular home.a computer with an Intel Core i7-6700 processor and the GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic Library for 3.5 years. At the same time, he competed with a team from Sabanci University, which, using the FPGA software accelerator and new squaring algorithms, plans to make the necessary calculations for two months - by May 11, 2019.

Scientists note that this task is not verycomplex, but the answer to it can be obtained only if the algorithm passes the required number of steps - about 80 trillion. At the same time, participants could not use parallel computing and supercomputers in their decisions.

Now, after solving the puzzle, on May 15, 2019, MIT will host an opening of the capsules that were left for posterity by the developers of the problem in 1999.