The Number Field Sieve (NFS) is a:
A.
General purpose factoring algorithm that can be used to factor large
numbers
B.
General purpose algorithm used for brute force attacks on secret key
cryptosystems
C.
General purpose hash algorithm
D.
General purpose algorithm to calculate discreet logarithms
Explanation:
The NFS has been successful in efficiently factoring numbers
larger than 115 digits and a version of NFS has successfully factored
a 155-digit number. Clearly, factoring is an attack that can be used
against the RSA cryptosystem in which the public and private keys
are calculated based on the product of two large prime numbers.
The other answers are distracters.