Final answer:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation broke DES encryption with a DES cracker in 1998, revealing weaknesses in the encryption and prompting stronger encryption development.
Step-by-step explanation:
In July 1998, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced that it had broken a DES encryption using a special purpose "DES cracker" machine. This event was significant in the field of cryptography as it demonstrated the practical weaknesses of the Data Encryption Standard (DES), which had been widely used for securing electronic communications. The EFF's achievement led to increased interest in developing stronger encryption methods to ensure the privacy and security of digital information.