The International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) encrypts plain text data into encoded characters. It was created in 1991 as a replacement for the easily cracked Data Encryption Standard (DES). The Strong Encryption Standard (AES) replaced DES in 2001, but IDEA is still widely used, especially in email encryption protocols like PGP and OpenPGP. IDEA supports strong encryption keys up to 128 bits in length and can encrypt all forms of data. Its use is currently limited to non-commercial enterprises due to a patent.
Computer cryptography has been used for decades as a method of creating secret encrypted messages from plain text data. In recent decades, many new encryption algorithms have been created. The International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) is an example of an encryption algorithm that encrypts plan text data into a set of encoded characters. It was created in 1991 by James Massey and Xuejia Lai from Switzerland as a form of data encryption. The inventors had hoped that it could replace the standard encryption at the time, which was the Data Encryption Standard (DES).
In 1976, the US government created encryption standards for all federal government entities. The standard at that time was called the Data Encryption Standard (DES). These standards are maintained by the National Institute of Technology and Standards (NIST). When DES was released, there was a lot of criticism of the approach because the encryption algorithm was easily cracked by many computer scientists. This was mainly due to the fact that the encryption key used in the DES standards was too small, which limited key permutations and reduced the complexity of the algorithm.
In 2001, NIST updated the standards to the Strong Encryption Standard (AES). The new standard supported a more complex encryption algorithm that contained a large 256-bit key. This new approach has made current encryption algorithms impossible to hack. The International Data Encryption Algorithm was created before AES, as an interim approach to data encryption. The current IDEA algorithm has also evolved to support the new AES standards.
The international data encryption algorithm is widely used by many software applications and is considered a good algorithm for data encryption. It uses a symmetric encryption algorithm, which uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt data. IDEA standards support strong encryption keys up to 128 bits in length.
Pretty good privacy (PGP) is an encryption algorithm used in many email encryption protocols. This is typically considered a good approach to encrypting emails because it supports strong encryption keys. Many PGP algorithms use the International Data Encryption Algorithm as an internal method to encrypt the message. OpenPGP is an open source version of PGP, which has adopted IDEA as an optional algorithm.
Data encryption algorithms are not limited to plain text data. Most encryption algorithms support plain text data, audio and video encryption. All forms of data can be encrypted with the international data encryption algorithm. Currently, IDEA has a patent that limits its use to non-commercial enterprises.
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