As the digital age grows, the security of information becomes more vital. Data protection is essential in any transaction you carry out or as you save your critical documents. Encryption is converting readable information into a more secure form that nobody can read except the person with permission. A key is required to decrypt an encoded message, and it is only available to the person who encrypts the data and anybody they decide to share with different types of encryption.
Regardless of the algorithm used in encryption, the goal is the same. Various approaches can be used to protect your information when communicating through a network or storing your data on the cloud or your computer. So, what is the best encryption method that you can use to secure your information and systems? These are the seven most common encryption types you should know.
1. RSA Encryption
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman is another most popular encryption method. This method is suitable for online data. It requires the receiver to have their private key, meaning it functions with two different PKI Infrastructure components; public encryption key and private decryption key.
It’s suitable for encrypting data between people who are not familiar with each other and wish to share information without revealing their personal or sensitive data. You can also use it to verify signatures to ensure you are communicating with the right person. This method is not suitable for huge or many files as it takes a long time to encrypt data.
2. Data Encryption Standard (DES)
This method is a form of Symmetric-key encryption of data that uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt a message. It takes plain texts in 64 bits blocks, uses 48 bits, and converts them to ciphertext. In this encryption method, the sender and receiver must use the same key in different types of encryption.
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DES was standardized in the 1970s, with the US government approving it as the official Federal Information Processing Standard in 1977. Being one of the oldest encryption methods, DES was developed by IBM and is used to encrypt sensitive and unclassified government online data. Afterward, this method was adopted by various industries like financial companies.
However, the method was cracked by many security researchers. This vulnerability led to the replacement of the algorithm with a more secure encryption method.
3. 3DES Symmetric Encryption
When DES suffered several drawbacks, Triple Data Encryption Algorithm, commonly known as 3DES, was developed to replace it. Its name is derived from the fact that it uses DES three times to encrypt information. The tripling of the encryption steps makes the technology less susceptible to cracking than the DES method.
Triple Data Encryption was adopted and gained prominence in the 1990s. It was, however, not the final replacement for DES. Discovered by Karthikeyan Bhargavan and Gaetan Laurent, 3DES gained its essence mainly in the financial industries – payment systems and technologies.
However, the method is slow as it encrypts short data three times and it is not also exempted from hacking by security researchers. Some financial institutions still rely on this method to encrypt their internal data. Although, the technique is no longer incorporated into the latest technologies in different types of encryption.
4. AES Encryption
Advanced Encryption Standard is one of the most secure symmetric encryption methods developed by Joan Seaman and Vincent Rijmen. It’s adopted mainly by governments and also businesses to encrypt their daily data. It was established in 2001 by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
This encryption algorithm uses three different ciphers with 128 bits, and it supports 128, 192, and 256 bits. Each data name depends on the size of the block. The method requires the receiver to have a key to decode it. As DES became more prone to brute force attacks, the developers had to find a more secure method to encrypt data, and that is how AES came about. This Encryption Standard is more stable in encrypting government-classified data and other public and private organizations for free data Encryption.
AES is still a widely used Encryption method by the various market-available data tools. As one of the most recent developments, AES is the most secure available method you can find.
5. FPE Encryption (Format Preserving Encryption)
This is a data Encryption method whereby the cipher and the plain texts are in the same format. It simply pimples that it processes encrypted data directly; no translation into something similar to the original message. For instance, if a credit card has 16 digits, the encrypted ciphertext should also be 16 digits. The method is used to protect sensitive data found, especially in payment cards and country identifiers.
6. Blowfish Encryption
Blowfish is one of the Symmetric block ciphers that works on any length between 32 to 448 bits. The method was designed to replace the outdated DES. It is intended to be used publicly without any pay. Moreover, blowfish is fast and efficient, and up-to-date; this encryption method has never been hacked, making it the reason it’s the choice of many people in e-commerce to secure confidential information.
7. Two Fish
This is the symmetric Encryption version developed after the Blowfish. Bruce Schneier designed it as an updated version of the same with a block size of between 128 and 256. Regardless of its large size, this method functions in 16 rounds.
This encryption is more flexible than all other methods, allowing the user to add the encryption process’s speed while slowing the critical setup. Being free encryption, you can use or set it to your preference. Twofish comes after the AES method due to its variety of properties.
Conclusion
Since data encryption is a vital part of our daily life and technological developments, it is essential to have the correct information concerning encryption methods. Researching the various types of encryption keys will help you understand how each of them works, thus, allowing you to find the one that suits your requirements. This will help you to beat rampant cyber insecurities efficiently. So, what are you waiting for?
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