What Is Data Encryption Standard (DES)?
If you're looking for a way to safeguard your data, what's the best way? Many think the secret key cryptography (SKC) method is the best, like the Data Encryption Standard (DES). It uses only one key for encryption and decryption—so there's no need to worry about which key is used for what. It's been around since 1975, so you know it works! There are some downsides to SKC methods like DES. The biggest one is that if someone gets their hands on your encrypted data and knows how to decrypt it, they could use that decrypted data directly as plaintext or cleartext. That means they wouldn't bother breaking any encryption at all! If you want a more secure technique for protecting your data, we recommend public-key cryptography (PKC). This method uses two keys: one for encryption and one for decryption. So even if somebody got their hands on both of your keys, they still couldn't use them together without knowing some extra information—like a secret password or passphrase. In the early 1970s, America was in crisis. The National Security Agency (NSA) had determined that the United States government needed a new cryptographic algorithm. It wasn't going to be easy. Selecting and publishing a new cryptographic algorithm is no small feat. It requires significant planning, rigorous analysis, and careful attention to detail—primarily because the algorithm will be used by millions of federal employees across all branches of government. So how did they pull it off? The NSA assisted with evaluating all submitted algorithms, which were then posted in the Federal Register for public comment. Unfortunately, none of the submissions were deemed acceptable by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). So they decided to try again: a second invitation was posted in 1974, resulting in a submission from IBM. In 1975, technical specifications were published for comments in the Federal Register and analysis and review commenced; finally, in 1977, NBS issued DES (Data Encryption Standard) as FIPS 46!
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