Wang Xiaoyun, a strong woman in cryptography, once cracked the most secure password in the United States. What happened later?

"She has an intuition and can choose the best path from thousands of possibilities." -Yao Qizhi, winner of Turing Prize

The evening breeze blows across the river, the microwave is sparkling, and the night is getting deeper. At this time, the young child has fallen asleep soundly, and under the shining starlight, it is the time when a mother is wearing a star Dai Yue. The bright starlight lit up the night, and she woke up the American government.

1. There is an accident, and there is an inevitability.

In p>1966, a baby was born quietly in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, which is known as the "Capital of Shun Di". No one knew that a legend was coming into being. She is Wang Xiaoyun, who once let the American government collapse. Her name is simple and easy to write, but her brain is not simple at all!

Wang Xiaoyun's father graduated from the math and chemistry classes in Zhucheng Normal School. Her interest in math originated from her father, and she likes to think about and study problems since she was a child, so her performance in science is better than that in liberal arts. When she took the senior high school entrance examination, she only studied for 4 days, and then she was successfully admitted to Zhucheng No.1 Middle School. This made her realize her learning potential, so she began to work hard and started the road of self-exploration, which is a long way to go, and I will go up and down.

His mother's words and deeds have influenced Wang Xiaoyun to this day. In order to make her children concentrate on their studies, and because her father often teaches outside and doesn't come back often, Wang Xiaoyun's mother undertakes all farm work and housework by herself, and also takes care of education to accompany her children. When the children were troubled, the mother said that the prime minister could hold a boat in his stomach, and also told his children to avoid extravagance and rashness. If they were poor, they would be immune to it, and if they were rich, they would help the world. Doing science requires not only brain power, but also temperament and quality.

Yao Qizhi, winner of Turing Prize, commented on her, "She has an intuition and can pick out the best path from thousands of possibilities." This is not only admiration and admiration for her talent inspiration, but also a high degree of recognition and appreciation for her achievements, as if it was destined to be her, and it must be her, to solve the most difficult secret.

Einstein, a famous physicist, said: There is no such thing as luck, and even the most accidental accidents are inevitable. Choosing cryptography is an accident for Wang Xiaoyun, but her solid professional foundation, interest and persistent efforts for ten years are the inevitability of her success.

Second, Wang Xiaoyun, a workaholic

In a program "Let's Talk", Wang Xiaoyun, as the guest speaker, told a little joke of her own. He had a younger brother who studied mathematics, and he asked Wang Xiaoyun, why do you girls do password analysis so well? Is it because you girls are naturally interested in personal privacy? This "self-deprecating" joke made me laugh, and she was embarrassed to laugh herself. I couldn't help thinking that she was really a modern Mulan with a bright and informal personality.

in her spare time, she will also leave time for her interests. One of her "interests" is mopping the floor, the wooden floor at home, two or three times a day. I think she just changes her posture and continues to think about solving the problem, otherwise she won't be so fond of mopping the floor. There is also planting flowers and visiting the philatelic market. From the interest, we can know that Wang Xiaoyun turned a deaf ear to what was going on outside the window, and only did decryption. She is a long-lasting person who has been accompanying difficult passwords for decades.

There is a legendary saying that Wang Xiaoyun came up with the idea of cracking the White House password when she gave birth to a baby and was confined to the moon. Later, after her personal confirmation, it turned out to be true. It can be seen that breaking the secret is something that she has never stopped as a newborn mother. It must be a wonderful thing to have a career dream to accompany you all your life.

Deciphering the White House Password in 3 or 1 years

Wang Xiaoyun came into contact with the Hash function when she was a Ph.D. student, and applied to the national administrative department for a project to study the Hash function. Unexpectedly, this project, which had little hope, won strong support, so she began a long way to crack the White House password.

At that time, the research conditions were harsh and crude. In order to devote more time to the research, she spent all her family's money to buy a computer, a laser printer and a scanner at her own expense, and started her daily life of looking after children and typing codes. Of course, the premise of all this is the husband's full support.

Because it was recognized as the most secure cryptographic algorithm in the world at that time, she said that she didn't want to crack it at first, so she only analyzed its security at that time. I didn't expect to have a cracking scheme. After ten years, she finally ushered in the successful cracking of MD5 and SHA-1 in 25.

persistence and persistence are hidden behind every legend. Every time her description of deciphering is always fleeting, but scientific inquiry is never easy. When she cracked the White House password, she encountered a difficult problem that made her almost collapse. However, her unyielding personality did not make her give up. She can be called the safest password in the world, and she will only be more "stubborn".

Fourth, the joy of breaking the secret

Wang Xiaoyun was once asked, what was your mood after you cracked MD5? She said that I am very happy every time I finish cracking it. I have a best friend, and I will tell her after each crack. She will be happy with me, and I will also tell my lover.

Sharing is her way of celebrating, celebrating great miracles in an ordinary way. Madame Curie said: scientific discussion and research itself contains the ultimate beauty, and its own happiness is the reward. Yes, her achievements are rewarded by heaven and by the heart, which is enough, and there is no need for a shiny vanity label.

In p>24, Wang Xiaoyun went to the American Secret Society and tested the method of cracking the MD5 algorithm on the spot. As the host of the conference at that time, Biham said: Congratulation,you break MD5! There was thunderous applause from the audience. One cryptographer injured his arm at that time, and he even hit his thigh with his other hand to show his applause. It can be seen that the cracking of MD5 is a sensation!

Later, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publicly vowed: "Although MD5 has been cracked, SHA-1 has not found any security risks." In order to win a sigh of relief, Wang Xiaoyun started to decipher SHA-1, which is widely used in the world, and solved the password that the United States thinks is the safest.

5. To learn from the past and make peace for the world

Someone asked: What's the difference between cryptographers and hackers? Sa Beining, the host, quipped, it's like asking historians why they don't rob tombs. Wang Xiaoyun replied that the purpose of hackers is different. The purpose of hackers is to break the ring and make everyone unsafe. Our task is to make hackers have no choice but to ensure everyone's information security, including the national information security, and to build a secure information system.

The cause of science is to serve the people. Intellectuals in society must be people with conscience, so that knowledge is meaningful, and so is science. She also participated in the design of SM3 of Hash function in China, which is widely used in finance, transportation, state grid and other industries, emphasizing the need to establish an overall national security concept, improve national security defense capabilities, and at the same time undertake and complete a number of key projects in China, making significant contributions to protecting people's network information security.

not only "create peace for all generations", but also "carry forward the past and learn from the past". Wang Xiaoyun is a professor and a teacher at the same time. In order to stick to the front-line work, she came to Beijing and worked in Tsinghua, and her focus gradually shifted to personnel training. She tells her students to do nothing or do their best, and she often cares about greeting her students every day.

In front of students, she is not only a strict teacher but also a loving mother. It not only grasps the unique skills of developing to the holy, but also passes them on to the next generation of young people to cultivate talents in cryptography for the country. Hard-working gardeners always cultivate the most brilliant flowers of the motherland.

It's another dark night, and silver is sprinkled on the window. It's just when all is silent. The breeze and the frivolity of the sky make people yearn for the darkest and brightest sky. There is a desire, a thirst for knowledge and a desire for exploration in its depths, which is a lifelong mission for Academician Wang Xiaoyun.