Understanding AES-256 Encryption: The Gold Standard for Data Security

AES-256, which stands for Advanced Encryption Standard with a 256-bit key, is one of the most secure encryption algorithms available today. It's a symmetric block cipher, meaning it uses the same key for both encrypting and decrypting data. Governments, financial institutions, and security-conscious organizations worldwide, including LockMe, rely on AES-256 to protect classified and sensitive information.

How Does AES-256 Work?

AES operates on 128-bit blocks of data. For AES-256, the encryption process involves 14 rounds of substitution, permutation, and mixing operations. These rounds transform the plaintext into ciphertext in a way that is computationally infeasible to reverse without the correct key.

• SubBytes: A non-linear substitution step where each byte is replaced with another according to a lookup table.
• ShiftRows: A transposition step where the last three rows of the state are shifted cyclically a certain number of steps.
• MixColumns: A mixing operation which operates on the columns of the state, combining the four bytes in each column.
• AddRoundKey: Each byte of the state is combined with a round key; each round key is derived from the cipher key using a key schedule.

Why is it so Secure?

The security of AES-256 lies in its key length. A 256-bit key has 2²⁵⁶ possible combinations. This number is so astronomically large that even with the most powerful supercomputers currently in existence, it would take billions of years to brute-force the key. This makes AES-256 practically impenetrable against brute-force attacks.

LockMe leverages AES-256 to ensure your files are encrypted with this gold standard, providing you with robust security for your personal and professional data.