Triple DES

Triple DES


Triple Data Encryption Algorithm General
First published 1998 (ANS X9.52)
Derived from DES
Cipher detail
Key sizes 168, 112 or 56 bits (Keying option 1, 2, 3 respectively)
Block sizes 64 bits
Structure Feistel network
Rounds 48 DES-equivalent rounds
Best public cryptanalysis
Lucks: 232 known plaintexts, 2113 operations including 290 DES encryptions, 288 memory; Biham: find one of 228 target keys with a handful of chosen plaintexts per key and 284 encryptions

In cryptography, Triple DES is the common name for the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA or Triple DEA) block cipher, which applies the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cipher algorithm three times to each data block.

The original DES cipher's key size of 56 bits was generally sufficient when that algorithm was designed, but the availability of increasing computational power made brute-force attacks feasible. Triple DES provides a relatively simple method of increasing the key size of DES to protect against such attacks, without the need to design a completely new block cipher algorithm.