Symmetric Encryption Techniques
Data Encryption Standard (DES)
- Developed by the US government and IBM
- Standardized and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- A 56-bit version of DES: used commonly, but can be broken by brute force (in a day)
- Not recommended for data needing high security
Other symmetric encryption techniques
- Triple DES (3DES): DES three times, effectively giving it a 168 bit key
- Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), designed to replace DES; uses 128, 192 and 256 bit keys
- RC4: a 40 bit key, but can use up to 256 bits