With symmetric encryption methods (cryptography) such as AES, the keys used for encryption and decryption are identical in contrast to asymmetric encryption methods (RSA). AES encrypts and decrypts data block by block using a key whose length can be 128 (AES-128), 192 (AES-192), or 256 (AES-256) bits. Compared to the previously used data encryption standard (DES), which is limited to 56 bits, AES offers higher security and is therefore often applied in the financial industry (e.g., MAC).
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