Safety of the key and it's length

[James P. Howard, II]

On Jan 26, 2009, at 10:01 AM, Robert J. Hansen wrote:

> Even a small key, 1024 bits, is probably much more secure than you  
> are.
> If your traffic is encrypted with even a 1k key, the likelihood of
> someone attacking your traffic cryptanalytically is about zero.   
> They'll
> decide to try other means instead.
>
> It's best not to obsess over key size.  Larger is not better, but it's
> not as if it hurts you, either.

There are some ancient keys out there which are 512 bits (and I think  
I've seen smaller).  Are these likely still secure enough to use?

--
James P. Howard, II, MPA
jh at jameshoward.us

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