Your credit card purchases over the Internet are protected by a brilliant "public key cryptography" system invented by three MIT researchers in 1977.

FORBES: I've got a secret

Shortly after publishing their findings together with the Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security (CrySys) in Budapest, the Guardian ran with it on its website, citing the reports findings that said miniduke was still active on government computers in countries like Portugal, Ireland and Belgium.

FORBES: Old School Malware Writers Resurface With 'MiniDuke' Cyberattack

They stole information from a research version of a system made by ID Quantique, a Swiss firm that is trying to commercialise quantum cryptography, by taking advantage of synchronisation signals that pass between Alice and Bob.

ECONOMIST: Secure cryptography is only as safe as its weakest link