| National Institute of Standards and Technologies had begun considerations for a replacement of the current encryption standard. The current standard is known as the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and has not changed since 1977. The NIST began considering a public key algorithm as a replacement, then in 1990 suddenly dropped the algorithm for a digital signature method. The Digital Signature Standard was developed by the National Security Agency (NSA), and many critics feel the NSA influenced the NIST in their decision. A comparison between the three methods is discussed to point out differences, similarities, and problems. Public key encryption (RSA) incorporates both message encryption and sender authentication. Whereas, DES is a secure algorithm, but due to its key size it is becoming increasingly vulnerable to attack. On the other hand, Digital signature needs more development before it can be incorporated. Based on the research and public review of each algorithm. |
