3DES

From CryptoDox, The Online Encyclopedia on Cryptography and Information Security

Triple DES or 3DES is a minor variation of DES. Three 64-bit keys are used instead of one, for an overall key length of 192 bits (the first encryption is encrypted with second key, and the resulting cipher text is again encrypted with a third key). It is also three times slower than regular DES but can be more secure if used properly.

Triple DES enjoys much wider use than DES because DES is so easy to break with today's rapidly advancing technology. Triple DES was the answer to many of the shortcomings of DES. Since it is based on the DES algorithm, it is very easy to modify existing software to use Triple DES. It also has the advantage of proven reliability and a longer key length that eliminates many of the shortcut attacks that can be used to reduce the amount of time it takes to break DES.

See Also

• DES
• Private-key Cryptography

References

• 3DES at Wikipedia

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