AES stands for “Advanced Encryption Standard” and is a globally recognized symmetric encryption method, originally known as Rijndael. This block cipher is widely used to secure Wi-Fi connections, browsers and data. AES offers variants such as AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 with different key lengths. The AES algorithm protects important information in software and hardware, has been approved by the NSA and is highly trusted.
Due to its faster encryption, AES is ideal for applications with low latency and high throughput. Key lengths of 192 or 256 bits are considered sufficient to protect critical information. AES has proven to be a reliable encryption method, with successful attacks targeting weaknesses in side channels or key management. Encryption takes place in 10, 12 or 14 rounds, depending on the key length. Practically relevant weaknesses are not known, but theoretical attacks such as biclique cryptanalysis do exist. Criticisms of the complex algebraic representation are known, but there is currently no method for solving this equation.
Established as a standard by NIST in 2001, AES is used worldwide for the encryption of sensitive data. It secures data at rest, Wi-Fi networks and browser connections. AES is considered to be very secure, as no significant weaknesses are known to date, and is protected against brute force attacks.