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The mysterious Rijndael: How did this Belgian cryptographer's discoveries change the security world?
In today's digital age, data security has become an important issue of concern to all walks of life, and one of the key technologies is the "Advanced Encryption Standard" (AES). Behind this standard is the remarkable discovery of Rijndael by Belgian cryptographers Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen. Since being incorporated into the official standard by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001, the encryption mechanism underlying Rijndael has not only been widely used in the government field, but also plays a vital role in business and personal privacy protection.
The certificate number of AES is FIPS PUB 197, which marks a new era of cryptographic design.
On November 26, 2001, with the release of FIPS PUB 197, AES officially became a federal government standard in the United States. This standard marked a move from the early Data Encryption Standard (DES) to a more secure future. AES is famous for its symmetric key design concept. Simply put, the same key is used for encryption and decryption, which makes the operation process simple and clear, and also improves processing efficiency.
The operating principle of AES is based on the so-called "substitution-permutation network". This design approach ensures a balance between safety and efficiency. At the same time, the Rijndael algorithm selected by AES is highly flexible and can support different keys and block sizes, from 128 bits to 256 bits.
The key length of AES clearly defines the rounds in the encryption process, which not only increases its security but also improves the efficiency of data encryption.
The encryption rounds of AES are 10 rounds (128-bit key), 12 rounds (192-bit key) and 14 rounds (256-bit key) depending on the length of the key. These rounds include multiple processing steps, each of which plays a critical role in the final ciphertext result. Especially in the "ShiftRows" step, the arrangement of data is cyclically shifted, ensuring the diffusion of ciphertext and thereby enhancing security.
By combining different conversion steps, AES can effectively protect data from unauthorized parties. This technology is widely used in various encryption suites. Not only government agencies, but also many commercial and individual users have used AES to encrypt their sensitive information. AES is also the first and only publicly accessible cipher approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) for use with top secret information.
"AES is designed and strong enough to protect any unclassified U.S. government information, making it an important cornerstone of the national security system."
As time goes by, various potential attacks on AES have been continuously proposed, but so far, AES's protective capabilities are still quite strong. In 2003, the U.S. government announced that AES could be used to protect classified information. What currently arouses people's concern is that with the increasing computing power, theoretical cracking methods may one day threaten the already widely used AES standard. However, experts believe that all known attacks on AES still cannot break through the security of its core algorithm.
AES's adaptability allows it to perform encryption and decryption operations quickly, making it the first choice in many commercial products. For sensitive information that needs to be protected, many companies and institutions have adopted this standard to avoid potential risks to digital assets.
In addition to its technicality and breadth, AES's "simplicity" is also one of the important factors in its success. When cryptographers designed AES, they chose an effective and easy-to-implement structure that can perform efficiently both in hardware and software. This allows users in various environments to obtain the same security guarantee without requiring the investment of large resources.
Not only that, AES's standardization process also allows it to continue to adapt to new technical challenges and evolve to meet modern needs.
Looking to the future, the progress and application of AES has a bright future, but it also comes with the potential for constant challenges. With the development of quantum computing, experts have begun to reflect more and discuss the future of AES. Can this classic work of cryptography withstand the challenges that come with it?
All of this deserves our in-depth thinking and attention. Will AES evolve again with new challenges?
