Encryption Algorithm

Introduction to Encryption Algorithm

An encryption algorithm is an algorithm designed to encode a message or information so that only authorized parties can have access to data, and data is unreadable by unintended parties. There are two types of Encryption Algorithm like the Symmetric-key algorithm, also known as a secret key algorithm, and the Asymmetric key algorithm, also called a public key algorithm.

Different Types of Encryption Algorithm

An Encryption Algorithm has been developed to add security features with the data that has been exchanged between the peers. Depending upon the security requirements, different algorithms can be used with the cipher suite. Below are some of the important Encryption Algorithms:

1. AES

• AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, which is the most common mode of data encryption.
• AES used 128 bit for data encryption, while it also has the tendency to bring 192 and 256-bit heavy encryption.
• The US government has endorsed this encryption algorithm and can be considered best to protect the system against all kinds of attacks, but not the brute force attack.

2. RSA

• RSA can be defined as the de facto algorithm to encrypt the data transmitted over the internet.
• It is nothing but an asymmetric algorithm and has been considered opposite to that of Triple-DES, a symmetric algorithm.
• In RSA, the data has been encrypted using the public key, while a private key has been used to decode it. The main concern that comes in a while using this algorithm is, the private key has to be kept very secure to protect the data or system from abuse.

3. Triple DES

• Triple DES can be defined as the updated or advanced version of the Data Encryption Standard that has been used to encrypt the data in many organizations.
• Triple DES is the symmetric algorithm and hence depends upon a single key to encrypt and decrypt the data.
• It has been called Triple DES as the uses three different keys of 56 bits each in order to encrypt the data, which eventually makes it 168-bit data encryption.
• In some industries, DES has been considered the standard to protect the data as it is the most common encryption algorithm.

4. Blowfish

• Blowfish may be defined as the symmetric algorithm that has been introduced to replace the Data Encryption Standard(DES).
• This algorithm divides the entire message into a block of 64 bits which then gets encrypted individually to enhance security.
• Blowfish is often used in the websites that accept or process the payment online in order to encrypt the card and other critical details.

5. Twofish

• Twofish can be defined as another symmetric algorithm that is actually a predecessor of Blowfish.
• Unlike to Blowfish, there is just a single key used to encrypt or decrypt the data, and the key is supposed to be a 256-bit long key.
• It is freely available for anyone who wants to use it, and due to its free and easy availability, it has been preferred by several software and hardware environments.

Understanding Symmetric and Asymmetric Algorithms

Let’s discuss the two modes of encryption below:

Symmetric Algorithm

It may be defined as the encryption algorithm that uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt the data. The data has to pass through this algorithm to get transformed into the ciphertext that can be decrypted by any of the peers using the same key that has been used to decrypt it. It is used as the core algorithm to develop other algorithms like Blowfish, Twofish, and so on.

Asymmetric Algorithm

It may be defined as the encryption algorithm that uses two different keys to encrypt and decrypt the data. The key used to encrypt the message is called the public key, while the key used to decrypt the message is called the private key. Between the two keys, the private key must be kept very secure to protect the system from a man-in-the-middle attack. The encryption algorithms like RSA use this mode of encryption.

Conclusion

There are several encryption algorithms out there in the market available for us to secure the data that has to be transmitted through the internet. The sole reason for these algorithms’ existence is to protect the man in the middle attack, which is concerned with the sniffing of data by someone malicious in an unauthorized manner. Based on the software or the hardware system’s requirement, we can choose the encryption algorithm among various available options. In some organizations, usually, select any particular algorithm as the standard one to transform the message into ciphertext.

As per the requirement based on the speed of encryption, the algorithm has to have opted. For instance, the Blowfish works fast enough to speed up the encryption processes. Many of the systems that require quick encryption and decryption of the data should have to process with Blowfish. When it comes to government-based organizations, they prefer to have their standard encryption algorithm applied everywhere in order to manage the standard. Several algorithms have been made available for free so that the organization will provide a low budget in their security department can also leverage it to protect their data being exchanged online.

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This has been a guide to the Encryption Algorithm. Here we have discussed the different types of encryption algorithms and an understanding of the symmetric and asymmetric algorithm in detail. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

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