What is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a widely used symmetric encryption algorithm designed to secure data. Key aspects include:

1. **Symmetric Key Encryption:** AES uses the same key for both encryption and decryption, requiring secure key management.

2. **Block Cipher:** AES encrypts data in fixed-size blocks of 128 bits. It can handle key sizes of 128, 192, or 256 bits, resulting in AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256 respectively.

3. **Rounds:** The algorithm performs multiple rounds of processing on each block. AES uses 10 rounds for AES-128, 12 rounds for AES-192, and 14 rounds for AES-256, each involving substitution, permutation, and mixing of the data.

4. **Security:** AES is considered highly secure and efficient, with no practical cryptographic attacks found against it when implemented correctly. It is widely adopted in various security protocols and systems.

5. **Standardization:** AES was standardized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001, following a public competition to select a robust encryption algorithm.

AES is a cornerstone of modern cryptographic practices, ensuring strong encryption for a range of applications from secure communications to data protection.