Military-grade encryption is a term you can notice in cybersecurity, data privacy, and password-related articles. What does it mean?
What does this term mean? Do only military and government entities use this encryption method? Why should you be familiar with something of military grade?
Military-grade encryption refers to AES-256.
Encryption is a process when a piece of data (f.e., a password) is translated into a ciphertext – a sequence of random numbers, letters, and symbols. Read more about the concept and its benefits here.
Military-grade encryption refers to a specific encryption type – AES (Advanced Encryption Standard, or Rijndael) algorithm. This encryption method was established in 2001 by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Two Belgian cryptographers proposed a new symmetric-key block cipher that utilizes 256-bit keys. The U.S. government announced AES as a new standard, changing the previously used 56-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES).
Today, most cybersecurity service providers utilize military-grade encryption. In other words, they use a block cipher that supports block sizes of 128-bits and greater to protect data.
Why is this encryption called military grade?
When the AES superseded the DES encryption algorithm, it became a widely accepted standard to protect government information. Consequently, AES-128 was used for unclassified information and AES-256 for protecting secret, critically sensitive governmental information.
AES is named military-grade because it is the most reliable currently-existing way to protect top-secret data, government, bank, and military included. Although there were many attempts, it has not been cracked. If encryption is implemented correctly, nobody should be able to succeed.
You might also hear alternative ways of calling AES: banking-grade, government-grade, or industry-standard encryption. All these synonyms refer to the same encryption method: AES-128 or AES-256.
Your data is probably protected with AES-256 too.
Governments, banks, and the military are not the only entities that use AES-256 to protect their data. Many security-oriented tools utilize military-grade encryption too. For instance, if you store your passwords in a password manager (and you should), ensure the software uses this encryption method.
The same applies to all sensitive, private data. Any tool or service that has direct access to your sensitive data (passwords, files, logins, IPs, etc.) should use AES.
For instance, today, AES-256 is widely used in:
- password managers (such as PassCamp);
- cloud service providers (such as Google Cloud, iCloud);
- VPN service providers;
- financial service providers;
- messaging programs (such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp);
- others.
Do you need AES-256 for your data protection?
If you care about your data privacy and safety, the short answer is yes. You need military-grade encryption for the ultimate protection of your data.
Protecting sensitive data with the most reliable encryption method out there should be a rule, not an exception. No platform, industry, app, or service provider is immune to ever-growing cyber threats and data breaches. The one thing that can help you increase defense efficiency against cyber threats is encryption.
Therefore, as a business owner provider, you should definitely exploit the best ways to protect your clients’ data. As an individual, always choose the tools that use military-grade encryption to defend your data from unauthorized access, leak, or reveal.
FAQs
Military grade encryption is a type of data security that uses advanced algorithms to protect confidential information. It usually involves encrypting sensitive data using high-level cryptographic tools and techniques. It enables users to encrypt their files and communications with an extremely high level of strength.
Can a military grade encryption be cracked? ›
There is no known practical attack that would allow someone to access AES-encrypted data if encryption is implemented correctly.
What is the encryption password? ›
Encryption scrambles your password so it's unreadable and/or unusable by hackers. That simple step protects your password while it's sitting in a server, and it offers more protection as your password zooms across the internet. Imagine that you've created the strongest password possible.
Has 256-bit encryption ever been cracked? ›
AES-256 encryption is virtually uncrackable using any brute-force method. It would take millions of years to break it using the current computing technology and capabilities.
Does military grade mean good? ›
It's not as though a product has passed or failed a government-supervised inspection. “Military grade” can simply mean it measured up to at least one standard for materials, shock absorption, temperature resistance, vibrations, or other variable. It can also mean someone did no testing at all.
What is the difference in military encryption and regular encryption? ›
Industrial and military cryptography should follow the same basic rules, but what does make them different is: Higher key length, protocols unknown to the civilian world, and perhaps unique methods of transferring media.
What is the hardest encryption to crack? ›
AES 256-bit encryption is the strongest and most robust encryption standard that is commercially available today. While it is theoretically true that AES 256-bit encryption is harder to crack than AES 128-bit encryption, AES 128-bit encryption has never been cracked.
Which encryption Cannot be cracked? ›
In cryptography, the one-time pad (OTP) is an encryption technique that cannot be cracked, but requires the use of a single-use pre-shared key that is larger than or equal to the size of the message being sent. In this technique, a plaintext is paired with a random secret key (also referred to as a one-time pad).
Has AES 128 ever been cracked? ›
Hence, it is safe to say that AES-128 encryption is safe against brute-force attacks. AES has never been cracked yet and it would take large amounts of computational power to crack this key. Governmental organizations and businesses trust the AES for securing sensitive information.
Is it possible to decrypt a encrypted password? ›
Even the most sophisticated computers on Earth are incapable of decrypting an encrypted password with 100% accuracy. A hacker may be able to guess your password, but they won't be able to see it. The most secure methods rely on an algorithm known as a one-way function that is infeasible to invert.
Encryption goes one step further than password protection and is an easy and effective way to lessen the likelihood of a privacy breach. Encryption scrambles information so that it is unreadable without a passcode.
Where can I find my encrypted password? ›
If you have forgotten, lost, or otherwise do not know the lock screen or the encryption password for your phone, the phone must be factory data reset. See How to factory reset a device. NOTE: For Android phones on Android 5.0 or higher, Factory Reset Protection may be enabled.
Does 512 bit encryption exist? ›
To be precise, it uses key sizes of 128, 192 and 256 bits and a single block size of 128 bits. However, Rijndael is not defined for key sizes larger than 256 bits, so AES-512 is not likely to ever exist; you'd have to change the algorithm significantly.
What encryption does the US government use? ›
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) – an encryption algorithm, selected by NIST after a public competition. In 2003, NSA certified AES for Type 1 use in some NSA-approved systems. Secure Hash Algorithm – a widely used family of hash algorithms developed by NSA based on earlier designs by Ron Rivest.
Does the US government use AES 256? ›
The National Security Agency (NSA) and many other U.S. government entities, including the military, use AES encryption for encrypted communications and secure data storage daily. Thus AES 256 is considered the best encryption available and often referred to as Military grade encryption.
What is military grade encryption in VPN? ›
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also referred to as military-grade encryption, is used by governments, intelligence agencies, and cybersecurity experts worldwide to encrypt sensitive information. Most secure VPN providers use AES with 256-bit keys, which is virtually impossible to crack.
What does military grade protection mean for phone cases? ›
Military Grade Explained
Military Standard (MIL-STD) is a specification designed by the U.S. military to evaluate a product's ruggedness, durability, and limits. The drop test consists of testing the resistance to shock of all surfaces of the case and device through multiple impacts: all faces, edges, and corners.
What is the military grade encryption standard? ›
Military-grade encryption refers to AES-256.
Military-grade encryption refers to a specific encryption type – AES (Advanced Encryption Standard, or Rijndael) algorithm. This encryption method was established in 2001 by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
What is the strongest level of encryption? ›
AES 256-bit encryption is the strongest and most robust encryption standard that is commercially available today.
