Cryptography
cryptography
security
encryption
What is AES Encryption?
Definition
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a symmetric-key encryption algorithm adopted by the US government and used worldwide. It operates on fixed 128-bit blocks and supports key sizes of 128, 192, or 256 bits.
Why It Matters
AES-256 is the gold standard for symmetric encryption. It protects data in TLS/HTTPS, disk encryption (BitLocker, FileVault), VPNs, password managers, and cloud storage. It is fast, well-studied, and has no known practical attacks.