DES

Data Encryption Standard

A symmetric key encryption algorithm developed by IBM in the 1970s and was later adopted as a standard by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1977. The standard was widely used for a number of years, but it has since been considered to be insecure because the key size (56-bit) is too small by today’s standards and can be easily broken by modern computers.

• Abbreviation: DES