How safe is AES encryption?
[top] The U.S. Government has recently replaced the Triple DES standard with the similar but more advanced AES standard, even for TOP SECRET documents. Our system uses a 256bit key – a key so large it is difficult to imagine (approximately 11 followed by 76 zeros.) To mount a brute force attack on a key this large would require trying 7.34 x 1059 keys every second for the remaining estimated life of the solar system – 5 Billion years. AES encryption is very safe.
