Who is RSA named after

RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is named after three cryptographers whose collective breakthrough made secure digital communication practical for everyone. Put simply, RSA stands for rivest shamir adleman, the surnames of Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman, who introduced the famous public key technique in the late 1970s while at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Why does this naming matter to you? Because their invention sits behind much of the trust you place in browsers, software updates, and document signatures, including the encrypted connections that power modern, browser-based meetings. As you evaluate communication platforms for your organization, this origin story connects directly to whether your chosen tools rely on proven math and standards rather than marketing claims.

rivest shamir adleman: The People Behind RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman)

Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman combined mathematical creativity with practical engineering to solve a puzzle that baffled researchers for years: how to let two parties exchange secrets safely without first meeting in person. Working within the fertile research environment at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), they published what became known as RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) in 1978, building on earlier insights about one-way functions and trapdoor permutations. Although later histories sometimes compress the timeline, the essence is clear: by tying security to the difficulty of factoring very large integers, they gave the world a durable primitive for encryption and digital signatures that is still widely used. Their work later earned the trio the A.M. Turing Award, often called the Nobel Prize of computing, underscoring just how foundational the result was.

• Year of public introduction: 1978 (journal publication from earlier 1977 work).
• Core idea: Security relies on the hardness of factoring large semiprimes.
• Main uses: Encryption, key encapsulation, and digital signatures.

How RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) Works in Plain Language

At its heart, RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is a clever lock-and-key system where one key can be shared openly and the other must be kept secret. Imagine a mailbox with a slot on the front: anyone can drop letters in, but only the owner with the private key can open the back to read them. Mathematically, you pick two very large prime numbers and multiply them; the product is easy to compute, but breaking it back into the original primes is extremely hard, which is what gives RSA its strength. To guard against known pitfalls, implementations combine RSA with padding schemes such as OAEP (Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding) for encryption and PSS (Probabilistic Signature Scheme) for signatures so that repeated messages do not leak patterns.

1. Key generation: choose large primes p and q, compute n = p × q and a helper value like φ(n); pick a public exponent e and compute the private exponent d.
2. Encryption: convert your message to a number m and compute c = m^e mod n; c is safe to send publicly.
3. Decryption: compute m = c^d mod n; only the holder of d can do this efficiently.
4. Signing: raise a hash to the power of d mod n to create a signature that proves authorship.
5. Verification: use e and n to check that the signature matches the claimed message content.
6. Acceleration: many systems use CRT (Chinese Remainder Theorem) methods to speed up private key operations.

Why RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) Still Matters for Secure Communication Today

Even as newer curves and protocols gain traction, RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) remains a cornerstone of trust on the public internet because it is well-understood, rigorously analyzed, and broadly interoperable. Public certificate ecosystems are conservative for good reasons, and numerous transparency analyses suggest that a large share of website certificates still use RSA keys, especially for signatures in TLS (Transport Layer Security). For risk-sensitive sectors like healthcare and law, predictable behavior across devices matters as much as raw speed, and RSA continues to deliver that stability when combined with modern padding and strong key sizes. Guidance from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) generally considers 2048-bit RSA appropriate for many uses today, with 3072-bit or larger providing additional margin for long-lived assets.

From Theory to Practice: RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) in Video Conferencing and AONMeetings Security

When you click a meeting link, your browser establishes a secure tunnel using TLS (Transport Layer Security) so your page and signaling data cannot be read or altered by intermediaries. In that handshake, RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) commonly appears in certificate chains and signatures managed by the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), while session keys are negotiated for speed and forward secrecy. For real-time media, WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) protects audio and video with DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) for key agreement and SRTP (Secure Real-time Transport Protocol) for stream encryption, keeping conversations private even on shared networks. AONMeetings builds on these open standards and best practices, pairing strong encryption with HD Video & Audio Quality powered by WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) so that clarity, performance, and safety go hand in hand.

Operational Playbook: Keys, Compliance, and Practical Tips for Teams

Security leaders in healthcare, education, legal, and corporate environments often ask the same question: what concrete steps keep communications resilient without slowing teams down? Start by aligning cryptographic choices with recognized guidance such as NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) publications and FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) validated modules where appropriate, then couple them with disciplined key management. In practice, that means sourcing trustworthy certificates, enforcing modern ciphers and padding like OAEP (Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding) and PSS (Probabilistic Signature Scheme), and maintaining strong revocation and renewal processes. Because AONMeetings is 100 percent browser-based with no downloads, your rollout also benefits from reduced endpoint variation, while HD Video & Audio Quality powered by WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) ensures the security settings do not come at the expense of human connection.

• Prefer 2048-bit RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) or higher for certificates that expire within a few years, and 3072-bit for long-lived verification assets.
• Enable OAEP (Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding) for encryption and PSS (Probabilistic Signature Scheme) for signatures to minimize attack surface.
• Rotate keys and certificates regularly; automate renewals to avoid outages and stale cryptography.
• Use HSMs (Hardware Security Modules) where feasible to protect private keys against theft or misuse.
• Document configurations for audits, including cipher suites, key sizes, and certificate lifecycles; align with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) where applicable.

Consider a healthcare network rolling out telehealth: clinicians need to start sessions from shared devices, patients join from phones, and compliance teams must verify encryption and auditability. By choosing a platform like AONMeetings that is 100 percent browser-based, organizations avoid installation hurdles while inheriting standards-driven safeguards from TLS (Transport Layer Security) and WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications). Unlimited webinars support ongoing patient education without surprise fees, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) summaries accelerate follow-ups that improve outcomes and reduce administrative load. The result is a secure-by-default posture that feels effortless to end users yet remains defensible in audits.

FAQ: Quick Answers About Naming, History, and Usage

• Who is RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) named after? The algorithm is named for Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman, who introduced it at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the late 1970s.
• Is RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) still safe? With correct padding and modern key sizes, RSA remains appropriate for many use cases, especially for signatures in TLS (Transport Layer Security) and certificates in PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).
• Which key size should I choose? 2048-bit is common today; consider 3072-bit for long-lived validation or stricter policies as advised by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).
• What about quantum threats? Neither RSA nor ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) resists large-scale quantum computers; monitor PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography) standards and plan phased migrations.
• Where does RSA appear in video calls? Typically in certificates and signatures during TLS (Transport Layer Security) setup, while media is protected via DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) and SRTP (Secure Real-time Transport Protocol) in WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications).

How AONMeetings Helps: AONMeetings integrates standards-based encryption and privacy controls with usability: HD Video & Audio Quality powered by WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications), 100 percent browser-based access, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) alignment, and unlimited webinars across plans.

The simple answer is that RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is named after its inventors; the deeper value is that their idea still anchors reliable, compliant collaboration today. Imagine customer consultations, patient check-ins, or legal interviews that feel face-to-face yet remain protected by mathematics vetted over decades. As you design your security and communications roadmap for the next 12 months, how will you align human clarity with cryptographic confidence rooted in rivest shamir adleman?