Data Encryption Standard

data encryption standard

[′dad·ə en‚krip·shən ′stan·dərd]
(communications)
A cryptographic algorithm of validated strength which is in the public domain and is accepted as a standard. Abbreviated DES.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Data Encryption Standard

(DES) The NBS's popular, standard encryption algorithm. It is a product cipher that operates on 64-bit blocks of data, using a 56-bit key. It is defined in FIPS 46-1 (1988) (which supersedes FIPS 46 (1977)). DES is identical to the ANSI standard Data Encryption Algorithm (DEA) defined in ANSI X3.92-1981.

DES has been implemented in VLSI. SunOS provides a des command which can make use of DES hardware if fitted. Neither the software nor the hardware are supposed to be distributed outside the USA.

Unix manual pages: des(1), des(3), des(4).
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

DES

(1) (Digital Entertainment System) See digital media server.

(2) (Data Encryption Standard) A NIST-standard cryptographic cipher that uses a 56-bit key. Adopted by the NIST in 1977, it was replaced by AES in 2001 as the official standard. DES is a symmetric block cipher that processes 64-bit blocks in four different modes of operation, with the electronic code book (ECB) being the most popular.

Triple DES
By adding various multiple-pass methods, Triple DES increased security; for example, encrypting with one key, decrypting the results with a second key and encrypting it again with a third. However, the extra passes added considerable computing time to the process. DES is still used in applications that do not require the strongest security. See cipher, cryptography, NIST, AES and Fortezza.
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