1.
DES (Data Encryption Standard)
- Type: Symmetric-key algorithm.
- Key Size: 56-bit key.
- Block Size: 64-bit block size.
- Rounds: 16 rounds of encryption.
- Weakness: Vulnerable to brute force attacks due to short key length.
- Real-Time Applications:
- Legacy Systems: Previously used in older banking systems, ATM encryption, and government
applications.
- Still in Use: Triple DES (3DES) is a more secure version used in some financial services.
- Strength: Simple and fast encryption for small-scale systems in earlier decades.
- Obsolescence: Considered insecure by modern standards; mostly replaced by AES.
2. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
- Type: Symmetric-key algorithm.
- Key Size: 128, 192, or 256 bits.
- Block Size: 128-bit block size.
- Rounds: 10, 12, or 14 rounds, depending on key size.
- Strength: Extremely strong, resistant to all known practical attacks.
- Real-Time Applications:
- Wi-Fi Encryption: Used in WPA2 and WPA3 for securing wireless networks.
- SSL/TLS: Used in securing web communications (HTTPS).
- Disk Encryption: Common in full-disk encryption (e.g., BitLocker, FileVault).
- Mobile Devices: Used in iOS and Android for file encryption and secure messaging.
- VPNs: AES is standard in many Virtual Private Network (VPN) protocols.
- Efficiency: High performance and minimal memory usage; suitable for hardware and software
implementations.
3. Blowfish
- Type: Symmetric-key algorithm.
- Key Size: Variable key size (32 to 448 bits).
- Block Size: 64-bit block size.
- Rounds: 16 rounds of encryption.
- Strength: Fast and highly secure, especially for smaller key sizes.
- Real-Time Applications:
- VPNs: Used in various VPN implementations for secure data transmission.
- Password Hashing: Used in cryptographic systems like bcrypt for password
protection.
- File Encryption: Utilized in software like GnuPG and tools like VeraCrypt for file and disk encryption.
- Advantages: Flexibility with key size; suitable for embedded systems and platforms with limited
resources.
- Replacement: Often replaced by AES in modern applications due to larger block size and stronger
security guarantees.
4. RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman)
- Type: Asymmetric-key algorithm.
- Key Size: Typically 2048 or 4096 bits.
- Based On: Difficulty of factoring large prime numbers.
- Strength: Strong for encryption and digital signatures; slow for large data
encryption.
- Real-Time Applications:
- SSL/TLS: Commonly used in securing web communications (HTTPS).
- Email Encryption: Used in PGP and S/MIME for securing emails.
- Digital Signatures: Used in verifying the authenticity of digital documents and software (e.g.,
blockchain technology, software updates).
- Cryptocurrency: RSA is used in some blockchain technologies for secure transactions.
- Performance: Relatively slow compared to symmetric algorithms like AES, but crucial for secure key
exchange.
- Hybrid Usage: Often used alongside symmetric encryption (AES) to establish a secure session key,
combining the strengths of both.
5. Diffie-Hellman
- Type: Asymmetric key exchange algorithm.
- Purpose: Securely exchange cryptographic keys over a public channel.
- Based On: Discrete logarithm problem.
- Strength: Allows secure communication between two parties without sharing
private keys; vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks if not authenticated.
- Real-Time Applications:
- SSL/TLS: Used for secure key exchange in web protocols like HTTPS.
- VPNs: Used in various VPN protocols, including IPsec and SSL-VPN.
- Messaging Apps: Used in end-to-end encryption protocols (e.g., WhatsApp,
Signal).
- Variants: Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) offers better security with smaller key sizes.
- Limitations: Does not provide encryption on its own; only facilitates secure key exchange. Must be
combined with a symmetric algorithm for secure data transmission.
Additional Points:
- Symmetric vs Asymmetric:
- Symmetric algorithms (DES, AES, Blowfish) use the same key for encryption and decryption, making
them faster but requiring secure key exchange.
- Asymmetric algorithms (RSA, Diffie-Hellman) use a pair of keys (public and private), facilitating secure
key exchange but generally slower.
- Security Considerations:
- RSA and Diffie-Hellman rely on the difficulty of mathematical problems (factoring primes and discrete
logarithms), making them vulnerable to quantum computing advances. Post-quantum cryptography is a
growing field addressing this.
- AES and Blowfish are highly secure against current cryptanalysis techniques, but AES is the
recommended standard due to its block size and cryptographic strength.
- Performance:
- Symmetric algorithms (AES, Blowfish) are much faster than asymmetric ones (RSA, Diffie-Hellman).
- AES is more efficient in hardware, while Blowfish remains an efficient choice for software applications
requiring speed.
