Schoolgirl stuns IT security world

A 16-year old Irish schoolgirl has developed a mathematical system which encrypts data far quicker than the industry standard.

Sarah Flannery became Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year this week, after presenting her Cayley-Purser algorithm to mathematical experts. Judges described Flannery's work as brilliant, and advised her to publish her proof that the code is secure.

Flannery's success, entitled 'A new algorithm versus the RSA', is a direct challenge to the market leader, RSA Data Security - which uses code originally developed in the 1970s by three scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

RSA's algorithm is the foundation of email clients and Web browsers worldwide. It is most commonly used in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which transmits data securely between a Web browser and server, enabling surfers to use their credit cards online.

The judges found Flannery's code was 22 times faster than RSA's algorithm, according to Esat Telecom, which co-sponsored the Irish Young Scientists and Technology Exhibition.

There are a number of public key systems in development which are faster than RSA, including NTRU, which Flannery did not include in her comparison. But industry has already shown an interest in her work. Caspar Bowden, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, said: "It's a remarkable achievement and I very much hope the algorithm will be published, so it can undergo peer review."

Paddy Holahan, VP Business development at Baltimore Technologies, a Dublin-based security firm, said: "Sarah did work experience with us last year, where she was inspired by our founder, Matthew Purser, to get working on cryptography. Certainly, we'd be interested in having her back once she's finished college."

Flannery is not expected to patent the Cayley-Purser algorithm as, outside the US, algorithms are considered discoveries, not inventions. But computer companies flocking to her door with job offers will find she is not at home. Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, is visiting her at her local school in Blarney, Cork.