The problem with Prime Numbers

[osprey]

Not sure if this is the right section (so I've posted it in Internet & Technology as well).

A multi million reward is available for the person who finds a surefire way to predict primenumbers.

This would crack everything related to encryption.

Does this make any sense? Wouldn't the discovery of such a prime-number-predicting algorithm be rather catastrophic in terms of internet business (and a bunch of other things?).
What would happen? Would they take the solution and lock it up, or would they release it to the public, thereby taking down all encryption, since they'd be much easier to crack?

[fo3nix]

It wouldn't totally, no.

Public key algorithms often depend on having the product of two (rather large) prime numbers. It's assumed that it'll be hard to find those two original prime numbers from their product, and hence it works quite well. If a faster method of doing this is found, then we're doomed for now.

Bring on quantum encryption!

[jake-the-peg]

Well there's the $1 millon Millenium prize for proof of the related Riemann hypothesis.

As for an algorithm to predict prime numbers I think we're likely to be safe - it seems the distribution is likely to be chaotic - so although some patterns arise there's unlikely to be an algorithm.

PS wasn't this the plot of that Robert Redford Film "Hackers" ?