AES

Advanced Encryption Standard

A symmetric key encryption algorithm that was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to replace the aging and insecure Data Encryption Standard (DES). AES was first adopted as a standard in 2001 and has since become one of the most widely used encryption algorithms in the world.

Like DES, AES is a symmetric key algorithm, which means that it uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. However, AES uses a larger key size than DES (128, 192, or 256 bits) and a more complex set of mathematical operations to encrypt and decrypt data.

The encryption process in AES is a bit more complex than DES, it applies a series of mathematical operations on the plaintext, these operations are defined in a series of rounds, and each round uses a different key (derived from the original key) and a set of fixed operations. The number of rounds used and the operations used in each round depending on the key size, with a larger key size requiring more rounds and more complex operations.

AES encryption is considered to be very secure and efficient, and it is widely used in a variety of applications, including:

• Secure communication and networking
• Data storage and backup
• Secure payment systems and e-commerce
• Disk encryption and secure boot
• Secure communications in wireless networks
• And many more.

It’s worth noting that like other encryption algorithms, the security of AES relies heavily on the security of the key, it should be kept secret and protected. AES encryption can be vulnerable if the key is compromised, this is why it’s important to use secure key management techniques to protect the key.

• Abbreviation: AES