But there are those who doubt the value of Rabin's discovery.

Cipher Deavours of Kean University said Rabin's method would have no practical purpose because it will not work for very long codes, an assertion Rabin refutes.

"This is not true," Rabin said. "It's not a problem at all, and it works very efficiently for very long messages."

Other critics dismiss the importance of Rabin's work.

Robert Morris, a retired cryptographer who was chief scientist for the National Security Agency, said although Rabin's method does make code-breaking more difficult, code-breakers will simply find another way to eavesdrop on the message.

But Rabin stands by the importance of his discovery.

"In a very unique situation, there may still be success in breaking a code, but this does not compare with just being able to tap lines and break code with a computer like before," he said. "We raised the bar very high. I predict that if decryption becomes impossible, people will also raise walls against other forms of theft."