Comparing low and medium cost computer-based technologies suitable for cryptographic attacks

V. Gayoso Martínez, L. Hernández Encinas, A. Martín Muñoz, O. Martínez-Graullera
Logic Journal of the IGPL, pp. 177-188, vol. 27 (2)

Initially developed for tasks related to computer graphics, graphics processing units are increasingly being used for general purpose processing, including scientific and engineering applications. In this contribution, we have compared the performance of two graphics cards that belong to the parallel computing Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) platform with two C++ and Java multi-threading implementations, using as an example of computation a brute-force attack on Hitag2, a well-known remote keyless entry application. The results allow us to provide valuable information regarding the compared capabilities of the tested platforms and to confirm that such a weak encryption system could be broken in less than a day with medium cost equipment.