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Suppose the NSA through legal means, or a malware group through illegal means has access to enormous computational resources via a backdoor into all Microsoft Windows machines (or some significant subset of windows machines).

What percentage of https traffic could be reliably decrypted through brute force?

In other words, are there enough conventional computer chips in the world that, if networked together could break cryptography?

Similarly, could a popular app like facebook or WhatsApp utilize the client cpu to give them powers they wouldn't otherwise have with their own resources? Does this happen?

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    schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/09/the_doghouse_cr.html - typical supernova releases something like 1051 ergs... If all of this energy could be channeled into a single orgy of computation, a 219-bit counter could be cycled through all of its states.
    – Hector
    Dec 6, 2017 at 15:35
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    @schroeder - I disagree with this being opinion based. See my comment above - its easy enough to prove it would be impossible with modern crypto standards.
    – Hector
    Dec 6, 2017 at 15:37
  • @Hector until you add in the quantum machines out there (there are a couple) then it becomes a guessing game
    – schroeder ♦
    Dec 6, 2017 at 16:00
  • @Hector and are you saying that 0% of https traffic could be decrypted via brute force?
    – schroeder ♦
    Dec 6, 2017 at 16:04
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    Assuming no quantum computing (and OP stated "Microsoft Windows machines" / additionally I'm not aware of any current quantum computer remotely close to being capable of breaking modern crypto / if it exists odds are intelligence agencies already have access making the question moot) then 0% of HTTPS traffic using unflawed encryption schemes with a key space of at least 200 bits. Considering most major browsers have disabled broken algorithms I would argue the percentage bruteforceable is close to zero / only really old systems that don't work with modern clients.
    – Hector
    Dec 6, 2017 at 16:15

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