What is the current state of the factoring problem, and what are the RSA challenge records?

The largest RSA number factored is RSA-250 (829 bits / 250 decimal digits) in February 2020. Current recommendations require 3072+ bits, providing a comfortable safety margin.

* Records sit far below the 3072-bit recommendation — a wide safety margin. *

RSA Factoring Challenge records:

Current minimum recommendations:

• BSI (2023): RSA modulus ≥ 3000 bits (practically 3072)
• Even $N \approx 10^{600} \approx 2000$ bits would theoretically still be safe
• But recommendations include a very large safety margin for long-term use

Perspective: The gap between what can be factored (829 bits) and what's recommended (3072 bits) is enormous — factoring effort grows super-exponentially with bit count.

Go deeper:

• RSA Factoring Challenge — Wikipedia — the full record table, including RSA-250.