Some unbreakable encryption keys are accidentally leaking online

Hardware faults are leaking hundreds of supposedly unbreakable encryption keys on to the internet, researchers have found – and spy agencies may be exploiting the loophole to read secret messages.

RSA is a widely-used encryption scheme that depends on two numbers – a public key, which anyone can use to encrypt a message intended for a particular person, and a private key, which decrypts the messages and only that person has access to. Individuals can also use their private key to “sign” a message, allowing…