How AES Encryption Works

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is the gold standard for symmetric encryption. It's used globally to protect classified information, secure Wi-Fi networks (WPA2/WPA3), and encrypt hard drives.

What is Symmetric Encryption?

AES is a "symmetric" algorithm, meaning the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. If you encrypt a message with the password "secret123", the receiver must also know "secret123" to decrypt it.

Why is AES So Secure?

AES operates on blocks of data (128 bits at a time) and uses a highly complex substitution-permutation network.

Depending on the key size (128, 192, or 256 bits), the algorithm performs 10, 12, or 14 rounds of scrambling. To date, there is no known practical attack that can break AES encryption. If you use AES-256, even a supercomputer would take billions of years to crack it!

When to Use AES

• Encrypting files locally on your computer.
• Securing databases and backups.
• Encrypting data before sending it over an untrusted network (as long as you can securely share the key beforehand).

Try encrypting a secret message in our tool and see the resulting ciphertext!