Difference between AES and DES Ciphers


Both DES and AES are symmetric-key block ciphers that are used in encryption where just one key (the secret key) is utilized to encode and decode electronic data. The key must be exchanged between the organizations communicating using symmetric encryption so that it can be utilized in the decryption process.

Go through this article to find out the features of AES and DES ciphers and how they differ from each other.

What is DES Cipher?

The Data Encryption Standard, often known as DES, is a symmetric key block cypher developed by IBM in 1977.

  • Plaintext is divided into two halves in DES encryption, and then DES uses a 64-bit plaintext and a 56-bit key to generate a 64-bit ciphertext, which is an encrypted representation of the data.

  • The key length used for encryption in DES is 56 bits, although the block size is 64 bits (the remaining 8 bits are check bits only; they are not used by the encryption algorithm). DES entails 16 rounds of identical procedures, regardless of key length.

  • Because the amount of operations in DES is fixed and no permutation combinations are permitted, it is easier to break the encryption, making it less secure than AES.

DES is a symmetric key algorithm used to encrypt digital data. Its short key length of 56 bits makes it too weak to secure most current applications that is based on encryption.

What is AES Cipher?

Advanced Encryption Standard, or AES, is a symmetric key block cipher developed by Vincent Rijmen and Joan Daemen in 2001. AES is implemented worldwide, both in hardware and software, to encrypt sensitive data. AES is widely used while transmitting data over computer networks, particularly in wireless networks.

  • AES uses a 128-bit plaintext and a 128-bit secret key to create a 128-bit block, which is then processed to produce 16 bytes (128-bit) ciphertext.

  • In the case of AES, the key length might be 128 bits, 192 bits, or 256 bits, with 10 rounds (128 bits), 12 rounds (192 bits), or 14 rounds (256 bits).

  • AES, on the other hand, is more secure than DES encryption and has become the de facto international standard.

The encryption process of Advanced Encryption Standard is based upon substitution and permutation operations in iterative manner. The 16 bytes of data are arranged in a matrix of four columns and four rows. On this matrix, AES performs rounds of substitution-permutation operations.

Each of these rounds uses a different cipher key, which is calculated from the original AES key. The number of rounds of operations depends upon the size of the key in the following manner –

  • For 128-bit cipher key, 10 rounds

  • For 192-bit cipher key, 12 rounds

  • For 256-bit cipher key, 14 rounds

Difference between AES and DES ciphers

The following table highlights the major differences between AES and DES Ciphers.

KeyAESDES
Definition
AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard.
DES stands for Data Encryption Standard.
Key Length
Key length varies from 128 bits, 192 bits to 256 bits.
Key length is of 56 bits.
Rounds of Operations
Rounds per key length:
  • 128 bits - 10
  • 192 bits - 12
  • 256 bits - 14
16 rounds of identical operations.
Network
AES structure is based on substitution-permutation network.
DES structure is based on Feistal network.
Security
AES is de-facto standard and is more secure than DES.
DES is weak, however 3DES (Triple DES) is more secure than DES.
Rounds
The operation rounds involved in AES encryption are Byte Substitution, Shift Row, Mix Column, and Key Addition.
Expansion, XOR operation with round key, Substitution, and Permutation are the rounds used in DES encryption
Size
AES can encrypt 128 bits of plain text.
DES can encrypt 64 bits of plain text.
Derived from
AES is derived from Square cipher.
DES is derived from Lucifer cipher.
Designed By
AES was designed by Vincent Rijmen and Joan Daemen.
DES was designed by IBM.
Known attacks
No known attacks.
Brute-force, Linear crypt-analysis and Differential crypt-analysis.
Encryption
AES can encrypt plain text up to 128 bits.
DES can encrypt 64 bits of plain text.

Conclusion

To conclude, both AES and DES are symmetric key block ciphers, however AES cipher is the de-facto standard of encryption and it is more secure than DES cipher.

Updated on: 10-Aug-2022

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