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Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a block cipher encryption standard established by NIST in 2001 that is widely used today. AES encrypts data in blocks of 128 bits using substitution-permutation network principles and rounds of processing including substitution, shifting rows of data, mixing columns of data, and adding a round key. The number of rounds depends on the key size, being 10 rounds for 128-bit keys, 12 rounds for 192-bit keys, and 14 rounds for 256-bit keys. AES is commonly used to encrypt wireless networks, database records, internet communications, stored files and passwords, and virtual private networks.

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48 views8 pages

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a block cipher encryption standard established by NIST in 2001 that is widely used today. AES encrypts data in blocks of 128 bits using substitution-permutation network principles and rounds of processing including substitution, shifting rows of data, mixing columns of data, and adding a round key. The number of rounds depends on the key size, being 10 rounds for 128-bit keys, 12 rounds for 192-bit keys, and 14 rounds for 256-bit keys. AES is commonly used to encrypt wireless networks, database records, internet communications, stored files and passwords, and virtual private networks.

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redhatethical01
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a


specification for the encryption of electronic data
established by the U.S National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. AES is
widely used today as it is a much stronger than DES
and triple DES despite being harder to implement.
 AES is a block cipher.

 The key size can be 128/192/256 bits.

 Encrypts data in blocks of 128 bits each.

That means it takes 128 bits as input and outputs


128 bits of encrypted cipher text as output. AES
relies on substitution-permutation network principle
which means it is performed using a series of linked
operations which involves replacing and shuffling of
the input data.
Working of the cipher :
AES performs operations on bytes of data rather
than in bits. Since the block size is 128 bits, the
cipher processes 128 bits (or 16 bytes) of the input
data at a time.
The number of rounds depends on the key length
as follows :
 128 bit key – 10 rounds
 192 bit key – 12 rounds
 256 bit key – 14 rounds
Creation of Round keys :
A Key Schedule algorithm is used to calculate all
the round keys from the key. So the initial key is
used to create many different round keys which will
be used in the corresponding round of the
encryption.
Encryption :
AES considers each block as a 16 byte (4 byte x 4
byte = 128 ) grid in a column major arrangement.
[ b0 | b4 | b8 | b12 |
| b1 | b5 | b9 | b13 |
| b2 | b6 | b10| b14 |
| b3 | b7 | b11| b15

Each round comprises of 4 steps :


 SubBytes
 ShiftRows

 MixColumns

 Add Round Key

The last round doesn’t have the MixColumns


round.
The SubBytes does the substitution and ShiftRows
and MixColumns performs the permutation in the
algorithm.
SubBytes :
This step implements the substitution.
In this step each byte is substituted by another byte.
It performed using a lookup table also called the S-
box.
The next two steps implement the permutation.
ShiftRows :
Each row is shifted a particular number of times.
 The first row is not shifted

 The second row is shifted once to the left.

 The third row is shifted twice to the left.

 The fourth row is shifted thrice to the left.


(A left circular shift is performed.)
[ b0 | b1 | b2 | b3 ] [ b0 | b1 | b2 | b3 ]
| b4 | b5 | b6 | b7 | -> | b5 | b6 | b7 | b4 |
| b8 | b9 | b10 | b11 | | b10 | b11 | b8 | b9 |
[ b12 | b13 | b14 | b15 ] [ b15 | b12 | b13 | b14 ]
MixColumns :
This step is basically a matrix multiplication.
Each column is multiplied with a specific matrix
and thus the position of each byte in the
column is changed as a result.
This step is skipped in the last round.
[ c0 ] [ 2 3 1 1 ] [ b0 ]
| c1 | = | 1 2 3 1 | | b1 |
| c2 | | 1 1 2 3 | | b2 |
[ c3 ] [ 3 1 1 2 ] [ b3 ]
Add Round Keys :

Now the resultant output of the previous stage is


XOR-ed with the corresponding round key. Here,
the 16 bytes is not considered as a grid but just as
128 bits of data.
After all these rounds 128 bits of encrypted data is
given back as output. This process is repeated until
all the data to be encrypted undergoes this process.
Decryption :
The stages in the rounds can be easily undone as
these stages have an opposite to it which when
performed reverts the changes.Each 128 blocks
goes through the 10,12 or 14 rounds depending on
the key size.
The stages of each round in decryption is as follows
:
 Add round key
 Inverse MixColumns

 ShiftRows

 Inverse SubByte

The decryption process is the encryption process


done in reverse so i will explain the steps with
notable differences.
Inverse MixColumns :
This step is similar to the MixColumns step in
encryption, but differs in the matrix used to carry out
the operation.
[ b0 ] [ 14 11 13 9 ] [ c0 ]
| b1 | = | 9 14 11 13 | | c1 |
| b2 | | 13 9 14 11 | | c2 |
[ b3 ] [ 11 13 9 14 ] [ c3 ]
Inverse SubBytes :
Inverse S-box is used as a lookup table and using
which the bytes are substituted during decryption.

Applications:
AES is widely used in many applications which
require secure data storage and transmission.
Some common use cases include:
 Wireless security: AES is used in securing
wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi networks, to
ensure data confidentiality and prevent
unauthorized access.
 Database Encryption: AES can be applied to
encrypt sensitive data stored in databases. This
helps protect personal information, financial
records, and other confidential data from
unauthorized access in case of a data breach.
 Secure communications: AES is widely used in
protocols like such as internet communications,
email, instant messaging, and voice/video calls.It
ensures that the data remains confidential.
 Data storage: AES is used to encrypt sensitive
data stored on hard drives, USB drives, and other
storage media, protecting it from unauthorized
access in case of loss or theft.
 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): AES is
commonly used in VPN protocols to secure the
communication between a user’s device and a
remote server. It ensures that data sent and
received through the VPN remains private and
cannot be deciphered by eavesdroppers.
 Secure Storage of Passwords: AES encryption
is commonly employed to store passwords
securely. Instead of storing plaintext passwords,
the encrypted version is stored. This adds an
extra layer of security and protects user
credentials in case of unauthorized access to the
storage.
 File and Disk Encryption: AES is used to
encrypt files and folders on computers, external
storage devices, and cloud storage. It protects
sensitive data stored on devices or during data
transfer to prevent unauthorized access.

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