key length

In encryption methods, the key length determines the security ofdata transmission. The longer a key is, the more difficult it is to crack it. Different cryptographic algorithms use different key lengths.

As the power of computers has increased exorbitantly, data encrypted with low key lengths can be decrypted with relatively little effort. Therefore, key lengths have been increased, with 64 bits or 128 bits being quite common key length values. Various encryption methods work with key lengths of 192, 1,024 or 2,048 bits. Longer keys are possible, although a further increase in the key length does not result in any further increase in security, because the available performance limits of the computers are reached with long key lengths.

The key length of 128 bits, known as a double length key, is made up of 116 bits and 16 parity bits. When decrypting a 128-bit key, supercomputers with high computing power require computing times of several hundred thousand years.