I think this shows how confident the NSA was/is in its cryptanalysis. You can assume that the NSA knew about the 31 round attack before they released it. The fa

I think this shows how confident the NSA was/is in its cryptanalysis. You can assume that the NSA knew about the 31 round attack before they released it. The fact that they released it at 32 rounds (exactly the bare minimum number of rounds to resist attack) and that in the past 25 years, no one has been able to extend the attack to 32 rounds is in my opinion pretty impressive. Just like you can't help but admire the prowess of a tightrope walker walking over the Grand Canyon, in the same vein, the NSA achieving security with exactly 1 extra round for 25 years is a demonstration of its crypto prowess.