[dragonwriter]

> Unless the NSA rewrites number theory (which is not impossible, I am forced to say, but it would be orders of magnitude more astonishing than anything we've ever seen them do)

Not to minimize the magnitude of the acheivement here, but I do think the NSA exerts considerable effort to avoid being seen doing most of the things -- including the most astonishing things -- they do. Its a pretty key part of their mission.