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DES encryption was the first standard for computer encryption, but its 56-bit key was quickly cracked. It was replaced by AES encryption in 2001, which offers stronger security. DES is only supported in legacy systems.
Encryption is the process of creating secret messages in an attempt to hide sensitive data. In computing, there are many methods of encrypting data. The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was the first standard established for computer encryption. DES encryption was created in 1976 by a group from IBM. At the time, it was considered the standard method for creating encrypted data for the US government.
DES encryption is based on a special 56-bit encryption key algorithm. The encryption key is the primary method for encrypting and decrypting messages. This encryption process is generally referred to as encryption and decryption of secret messages. Encryption is a process of converting simple strings of text data into an encoded version of characters. This cryptographic process is completed using special hashing algorithms with the unique 56-bit encryption key.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the government agency that maintains encryption standards in the United States. This group accepted DES encryption as a defined standard for data encryption between the years 1974 to 2001 for all government agencies. In 2001, DES encryption was replaced by the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The new standard supports a stronger 256-bit encryption key.
There were many permutations of DES encryption during its reign as the standard for data encryption. In early 1986 it was used in video coding. This encryption process used to be the defined method used by cable companies to scramble cable video transmissions. This forced customers to purchase special cable video set-top boxes that included the DES encryption algorithm. This algorithm was needed to decode the video transmission.
The main problem with DES encryption is the size of the encryption key. The 56-bit key did not provide enough deterrent for hackers. The DES standard was quickly cracked, and many black market encryption algorithms became readily available.
In 1998, an encryption program was created to demonstrate the weakness of DES encryption. This was created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and known as a DES cracker called “Deep Crack”. The program was able to crack the code for DES in 56 hours. This was the final blow to the DES standard, forcing the creation of the new AES standard.
AES encryption was declared the standard encryption by NIST in 2001. Today there are many encryption algorithms available that meet the AES standard. Most of these algorithms offer an extremely high level of security that cannot be broken. DES encryption is typically only supported in legacy systems that cannot support large encryption keys.
