The Methods of Encryption

The contemporary world is run on ciphers and code. Considering online private conversations, transactions cryptography is involved in everything done digitally. Cryptography is a form of secret communication aimed at transferring information through an insure channel in that there is no third party that can understand what is communicated between the involved parties. However, security has become a critical issue as the advances in the Internet are providing new ways to acquire access to data and systems.

All devices connected act as endpoints hence acting a loophole for hackers. You need to protect your data from hackers through encryption like Quantum-proof encryption. The following is a list of methods of encryption:

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

This is an asymmetric data encryption approach based on the use of the algebraic structure of elliptic curves. ECC creates various keys through the properties of the elliptic curve equation as compared to the traditional method of generating keys as the product of large prime numbers.

ECC is an approach that is based on the ability to calculate a point multiplication and the inability to calculate the multiplicand given the original and product points. The elliptic curve is used to determine the level of hardness of a problem. The approach requires a 1024 bit key to use, and it provides a level of security with a 164-bit key. Elliptic curves can be used in the key agreement, digital signatures, and pseudo-random generators.

RSA

This is a standard and asymmetric key encryption approach for encrypting data sent through the internet. The approaches different keys during encryption and decryption, the decryption key is kept private. The symmetry in this approach relies on the practical difficulty of factoring the product in two large prime numbers.

An increase in the key size increases the strength of encryption. The key can be up to a length of 1024 bits to 2048 bits long. When using RSA, you must ensure that you combine it with a padding scheme to prevent the message from being accessed by insured ciphertexts.

Anyone can use RSA as any active patents do not govern it. The approach can be used to perform decryption, encryption, and signature verification using the two functions.

ElGamal Encryption

This is asymmetric key cryptography that is based on the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange. In this approach, discrete logs in large prime modulus determine the security level. In ElGamal encryption, the same plaintext gives a distinct cipher text every time it is encrypted. Moreover, the generated ciphertext is double long the plain text.

The type of encryption that takes place when using this approach can be defined as over any cyclic group. The security encryption in this approach depends on the properties of the group and the padding scheme used in the plaintext.

Currently, ElGamal encryption is available as GNU Privacy Guard and Pretty Good Privacy. Additionally, this approach can be used in a hybrid cryptosystem that involves encryption of the plaintext using asymmetric cryptosystems. Then ElGamal is applied to encrypt the key, and it also includes Quantum-proof encryption.

Exponential Key Exchange

Exponential key exchange is not a private but a public key cryptography approach that comes before RSA. The method allows two parties to establish a shared secret through an insure channel without prior knowledge of each other. This approach is ideal for use in data communication, where data is stored for a long time, or it is archived.

The approach uses a public domain algorithm to secure Internet services. It acts and offers a basis for numerous authenticated protocols. This algorithm can also be used to provide forward secrecy in ephemeral modes in Transport Layer Security.

Twofish

Twofish is an algorithm that works like DES and it uses Maximum Distance Separable matrix. Twofish is a symmetric encryption approach that uses a key size of up to 256 bits and 128-bit blocks. Out of this, one and half of the n-bit key is an encryption key whereas the other half is used for modification of the encryption algorithm.

Twofish tends to be flexible; hence it can be used in networking applications where there is a frequent change of keys, and the systems use a small amount of random access memory and random operation memory. This approach contains other encryption tools like Photocrypt and GPG.

Triple DES

This data encryption method was developed to replace the Data Encryption Standard method. Initially, it was made to use 56 bits key size which later became ineffective to attacks due to increased computational power.

This algorithm offers the most efficient and straightforward approach to expand the size of keys of DES by using the DES algorithm thrice on every data block. When using this method to encrypt data, there is no need to create a new block cipher algorithm. Currently, Triple DES has a total key length of 168 bits. Following the meet-in-the-middle attack, a standard and reliable security offer around 112 bits implying Triple DES is a practical approach to use.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Advanced Encryption Standard is regarded as the successor of DES. This approach is used by high-end security data organizations like governmental organizations. It requires low random access memory and has high speed, therefore suitable for hiding highly secretive data. AES performs efficiently in various hardware ranging from 8-bit smart cards to high quality and high performing processors.

AES is efficient in the form of 128 bit, and it uses 256 and 192 bits when handling substantial security information. It is equipped with 10 rounds for 128-bit keys, 14 rounds for 256 keys and 12 rounds of 192-bit keys. The approach allows you to use the same key for encryption and decryption of information.

Blowfish

Blowfish is a symmetric key approach that was designed to replace DES. The method has a high speed, and it is highly effective. It is managed and placed in the public domain for anyone to use. Blowfish operates with a 64-bit block length alongside variable key size with a range of 32 to 448 bits. The encryption process uses 16 round Feistel cipher through large key-dependent S-boxes. It is found in various software types like eCommerce platforms, password management and disk encryption.

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