What standards exist for use of crypto in Australia and internationally?
A wide range of standards exist both for the mathematical algorithms used in an encryption system, and for the way those algorithms are applied. Algorithms The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a 56-bit key algorithm adopted as a FIPS standard in the late 1970s, however this FIPS accreditation was removed in 2004 as the integrity of the ageing algorithm was compromised. DES remains widely used in the banking and financial sector, however has been exposed as vulnerable to a brute-force attack using a purpose-built computer. Very few new deployments within critical industries such as banking & finance use the DES algorithm and within Government the DSD have indicated that the algorithm will no longer be acceptable after 1 January 2005. However, a variant known as “Triple DES” (3DES), effectively using a 168-bit key, has extended the lifespan of the algorithm considerably. Many new system deployments are using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Rijndael, which was explicitly selected
