Evaluation of Encryption Methods
Encryption is the process of encoding data so it can only be viewed or modified by authorized parties. The two basic types of encryption are known as symmetric and asymmetric encryption, but in either case, the basic encryption process is the same. Unencrypted data, or plaintext, is passed through a mathematical formula, or algorithm, together with a variable, known as an encryption key, to produce encrypted data, or ciphertext.
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Symmetric Encryption
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Symmetric encryption, also known as secret key encryption, is so-called because the same encryption key is used to encrypt and decrypt the data. A symmetric encryption algorithm divides data into blocks and switches the letters in each block around, changes them into numbers and compresses and expands them to produce ciphertext. Symmetric encryption algorithms can be up to 1,000 times faster than asymmetric encryption algorithms and are typically used to provide secure e-commerce transactions. However, symmetric encryption is less secure than asymmetric encryption because, if an encryption key is intercepted by an intruder, he or she can decrypt all the data encrypted with that key.
Asymmetric Encryption
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Asymmetric encryption, also known as public key encryption, uses a pair of related keys to encrypt and decrypt data. One key, known as the public key, is distributed to anyone who wishes to send an encrypted message, while the other key, known as the private key, is never distributed. Asymmetric encryption is more secure than symmetric encryption, but asymmetric encryption algorithms are more complex, slower and require more computing power than their symmetric counterparts.
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DES and 3DES
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The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was the first encryption standard to be recommended by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) and uses a 64-bit encryption key. However, DES is now considered an insecure block cipher and has been replaced by the slower, but more secure, 3DES encryption method, which applies the DES encryption method three times and uses a 192-bit encryption key. The longer the encryption key, the more combinations are possible and the stronger the encryption method.
AES
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The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is another block cipher, with a variable encryption key length up to 256 bits. AES has the advantages of being fast and flexible and is particularly well-suited to implementation on small devices. AES has been rigorously tested for many security applications and is approved by Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) in the United States.
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