Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

Data Encryption Standard

The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was introduced by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a standard algorithm for encryption, and it was in widespread use during the 1980s and 1990s. However, it did not prove to be very resistant to brute force attacks, due to advances in technology and cryptography research. In July 1998, for example, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) broke DES using a special-purpose machine called EFF DES cracker (or Deep Crack).

DES uses a key of only 56 bits, which raised some concerns. This problem was addressed with the introduction of Triple DES (3DES), which proposed the use of a 168-bit key by means of three 56-bit keys and the same number of executions ...