What is DES Cryptography?

PrintEmailSave

Main Image: 

A widely used methodology of data encyption using a private key is called Data Encryption Standard (DES) . Cryptography is the process of creating secret coded messages in order to hide sensitive data. DES is one of the many methids available for data encryption. The DES Cryptography was originally developed by IBM in 1976. Later, it was utilized by the United States government to encrypt data. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the body responsible for encrypting standards in the United States. The DES Cryptography was accepted as the standard for data encryption by the NIST from 1974 to 2001 for all government agencies. But, with the introduction of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in 2001, the DES Cryptography was subdued. The DES supports only 56-bit size which made it unpopular after the introduction of AES that supports 256 bit size.

What Is the Purpose of Cryptography?

Cryptography is a very ancient art where the palin text was written as a secret code. Cryptography is known to be existing from 1900 B.C. In data and telecommunications, cryptography is necessary while transmitting confidential data over any untrustworthy medium, particularly the Internet. When there is an application-to-application communication, there are some specific security requirements, which include the following: 

• Authentication: The process of proving one's own identity.
• Privacy/Confidentiality: Ensuring that only the person supposed to be the receiver can decipher the message
• Integrity: The receiver can be 100% sure that the message received was not tampered in any way
• Non-repudiation: A mechanism to prove that the sender is really the person who sent the message

What Are the Different Types of Cryptography?

Other than being used for user authentication, Cryptography protects data from theft or alteration. There are three types of cryptographic schemes

• Secret Key or Symmetric Cryptography: encryption and decryption are done using a single key. DES follows this method of cryptography
• Public Key or Asymmetric Cryptography: It uses two separate keys for encryption and decryption
• Hash Functions: It uses a mathematical transformation to irreversibly encrypt data

How Does DES Cryptography Work?

DES Algorithm takes a fixed-length string of plain text bits and transforms it into cipher text by a series of complicated operations. The sixe of the block is 64 bits. It also uses a key to customize the transformation, so that decryption can be performed appropriately. The key consists of 64 bits. However, only 56 bits are actually used by the DES Algorithm. Eight bits are used solely for checking parity, and are later discarded. Every 8th bit of the selected key is discarded, i.e. positions 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64 are removed from the 64 bit keys. This leaves behind only the 56 bit key. DES cryptography is not safe for encryption. It is most susceptible to hacking. Due to this problem, DES cryptography was de-ciphered. Later in 2001, AES cryptography was declared as the standard encryption by NIST. There are many algorithms today that meet the AES encryption standards.

What Is Public Key Infrastructure? 

Users of a unsecure network like the internet can most reliably exchange personal information by using a public and private key pair that has been obtained from a trusted authority and this method is known as Public Key Infrastructure(PKI). The PKI provides the users with a digital certificate to identify an individual or an organisation that is sending the message. Public key cryptography is the most commonly used method for authenticating a message sent from a source. A common public key is shared between the sender and the reciever to encrypt and decrypt the message.

Related Videos: 

Related Images: