ProtectStar™: FollyCrack’s an impossible nut to crack

12. March 2009

Miami, FL, USA, 6 March 2009 – ProtectStar Inc., the worldwide independent IT and communications security company, recently announced that the security crackers’ competition known as FollyCrack has proven to be an impossible nut to crack.
The original aim of FollyCrack was to crack the algorithm of a text file that was encrypted using the ProtectStar AES algorithm. ProtectStar raised the prize money for the competition several times – the most recent hike coming in September of last year, when ProtectStar raised the stakes to $50,000 in the hope of providing a sufficient incentive to put the functionality and performance of the encryption algorithm to the test.

Despite the large number of contest entrants, after nearly 400 days, no one has managed to decrypt the encrypted text file and crack the ProtectStar AES algorithm.
“We’re pleased at the large number of people who have participated in FollyCrack. However, not a single contest entrant has been able to provide a solution – or even an approach to one – or crack our encryption algorithm,” notes ProtectStar chief executive Christopher Bohn.
But, Mr. Bohn hastens to add, this should not be taken to mean – at least not yet – that the ProtectStar AES algorithm offers absolute security since “our competition has merely provided initial proof of security – proof that does not indicate anything about any ‘infinite’ security provided by the algorithm.”
Consequently, the ProtectStar research team is considering the possibility of reviving FollyCrack at some point by offering a considerably higher prize. Until then, interested persons can continue to try to decrypt the original text file, for which ProtectStar is offering a $1,000 consolation prize.

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ProtectStar™ to raise the prize money again for the FollyCrack crackers competition to a total of US$ 50,000

10. September 2008

ProtectStar™ Inc., the worldwide independent IT and communications security company, has announced that it will double the prize for the FollyCrack security crackers’ competition, bringing the prize value up to USD 50,000.

ProtectStar™ doubles prize money again for the FollyCrack competition to a total of 20,000 US dollars

17. March 2008

ProtectStar™ Inc., the worldwide independent IT and communications security company, has announced that it will double the prize for the FollyCrack security crackers’ competition, bringing the prize value up to USD 20,000.

Second chance – ProtectStar™ to double the prize for the FollyCrack competition

08. January 2008

ProtectStar™ Inc., the worldwide independent IT and communications security company, has announced that it will double the prize for the FollyCrack security crackers’ competition, bringing the prize value up to USD 10,000.

ProtectStar™ to launch the „FollyCrack Crackers” competition for the winter holiday season

07. December 2007

Independent international IT and communications security specialist ProtectStar™ Inc. has given Christmas crackers new meaning in its new winter competition – FollyCrack – aimed at encryption enthusiasts ...