Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

AES, a symmetric key encryption method developed by Belgian cryptographers Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, was presented by NIST in 2001. Rijndael secures critical data in communication networks, financial transactions, and file storage. AES supports 128-bit data blocks and 128, 192, or 256-bit keys. Substitutions, permutations, and mixing are used to secure encryption. The transmitter and receiver share a key for symmetric encryption. Alice and Bob must securely exchange a secret key before sending an AES-encrypted message. Bob can decrypt the message using the same secret key....

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)

Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman invented RSA in 1977. This encryption uses huge prime numbers and the difficulty of factoring large composite numbers. RSA encrypts and decrypts using public and private keys. The public key is disclosed, but the secret key is concealed. This enables keyless secure communication. Bob’s public key lets Alice send Bob an RSA-encrypted message. Bob’s private key decrypts the message. Digital signatures and key exchange use RSA. RSA is slower than AES and unsuitable for big data encryption owing to its computational complexity....

Difference Between AES and RSA Encryption

Attribute AES RSA Type Symmetric key encryption Asymmetric (public key) encryption Key Length 128, 192, or 256 bits 1024, 2048, or 4096 bits (common) Speed & Efficiency Fast and efficient for bulk data Slower, not suited for large data Use Cases Encrypting files, databases, and channels Key exchange, authentication, signatures Encryption Process Substitution-permutation network Modular exponentiation Key Distribution Requires a secure method to share the secret key No need to securely share the public key Computational Complexity Relatively low High, especially for large key lengths Attack Resistance  Vulnerable to brute-force attacks, but still secure Vulnerable to advances in factoring techniques Key Management  Easier, as only one key is involved More complex due to separate public and private keys Suitability for Hardware Well-suited for hardware implementation Hardware implementation can be more challenging Quantum Resistance  Vulnerable to quantum attacks (e.g., Grover’s algorithm) Potentially vulnerable to quantum attacks Example Secure file storage and communication Secure email and digital certificates...