First published 1998 (ANS X9.52) Block sizes 64 bits | Derived from DES | |
Key sizes 168, 112 or 56 bits (keying option 1, 2, 3 respectively) Rounds 48 DES-equivalent rounds | ||
In cryptography, Triple DES (3DES), officially the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA or Triple DEA), is a symmetric-key block cipher, which applies the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cipher algorithm three times to each data block.
Contents
- Definitive standards
- Name of the algorithm
- Algorithm
- Keying options
- Other terms
- Encryption of more than one block
- Security
- Usage
- References
The original DES cipher's key size of 56 bits was generally sufficient when that algorithm was designed, but the availability of increasing computational power made brute-force attacks feasible. Triple DES provides a relatively simple method of increasing the key size of DES to protect against such attacks, without the need to design a completely new block cipher algorithm.
Definitive standards
The Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA) is defined in each of:
Name of the algorithm
The earliest standard that defines the algorithm (ANS X9.52, published in 1998) describes it as the "Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA)" — i.e. three operations of the Data Encryption Algorithm specified in ANSI X3.92 — and does not use the terms "Triple DES" or "DES" at all. FIPS PUB 46-3 (1999) defines the "Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA)", but also uses the terms "DES" and "Triple DES". It uses the terms "Data Encryption Algorithm" and "DES" interchangeably, including starting the specification with:
The Data Encryption Standard (DES) shall consist of the following Data Encryption Algorithm (DES) [sic] and Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA, as described in ANSI X9.52).
NIST SP 800-67 (2004, 2012) primarily uses the term TDEA, but also refers to "Triple DES (TDEA)". ISO/IEC 18033-3 (2005) uses "TDEA", but mentions that:
The TDEA is commonly known as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard).
While none of the standards that define the algorithm use the term "3DES", this term is used by some vendors, users, and cryptographers.
Algorithm
Triple DES uses a "key bundle" that comprises three DES keys, K1, K2 and K3, each of 56 bits (excluding parity bits). The encryption algorithm is:
ciphertext = EK3(DK2(EK1(plaintext)))I.e., DES encrypt with K1, DES decrypt with K2, then DES encrypt with K3.
Decryption is the reverse:
plaintext = DK1(EK2(DK3(ciphertext)))I.e., decrypt with K3, encrypt with K2, then decrypt with K1.
Each triple encryption encrypts one block of 64 bits of data.
In each case the middle operation is the reverse of the first and last. This improves the strength of the algorithm when using keying option 2, and provides backward compatibility with DES with keying option 3.
Keying options
The standards define three keying options:
Keying option 1 is the strongest, with 3 × 56 = 168 independent key bits.
Keying option 2 provides less security, with 2 × 56 = 112 key bits. This option is stronger than simply DES encrypting twice, e.g. with K1 and K2, because it protects against meet-in-the-middle attacks.
Keying option 3 is equivalent to DES, with only 56 key bits. It provides backward compatibility with DES, because the first and second DES operations cancel out. It is no longer recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and is not supported by ISO/IEC 18033-3.
Each DES key is nominally stored or transmitted as 8 bytes, each of odd parity, so a key bundle requires 24 bytes for option 1, 16 for option 2, or 8 for option 3.
Other terms
"Keying option n" is the term used by the standards (X9.52, FIPS PUB 46-3, SP 800-67, ISO/IEC 18033-3) that define the TDEA. However, other terms are used in other standards and related recommendations, and general usage.
Encryption of more than one block
As with all block ciphers, encryption and decryption of multiple blocks of data may be performed using a variety of modes of operation, which can generally be defined independently of the block cipher algorithm. However, ANS X9.52 specifies directly, and NIST SP 800-67 specifies via SP 800-38A that some modes shall only be used with certain constraints on them that do not necessarily apply to general specifications of those modes. For example, ANS X9.52 specifies that for cipher block chaining, the initialization vector shall be different each time, whereas ISO/IEC 10116 does not. FIPS PUB 46-3 and ISO/IEC 18033-3 define only the single block algorithm, and do not place any restrictions on the modes of operation for multiple blocks.
Security
In general, Triple DES with three independent keys (keying option 1) has a key length of 168 bits (three 56-bit DES keys), but due to the meet-in-the-middle attack, the effective security it provides is only 112 bits. Keying option 2 reduces the effective key size to 112 bits (because the third key is the same as the first). However, this option is susceptible to certain chosen-plaintext or known-plaintext attacks, and thus, it is designated by NIST to have only 80 bits of security.
The best attack known on keying option 1 requires around 232 known plaintexts, 2113 steps, 290 single DES encryptions, and 288 memory (the paper presents other tradeoffs between time and memory). This is not currently practical and NIST considers keying option 1 to be appropriate through 2030. If the attacker seeks to discover any one of many cryptographic keys, there is a memory-efficient attack which will discover one of 228 keys, given a handful of chosen plaintexts per key and around 284 encryption operations.
Usage
The electronic payment industry uses Triple DES and continues to develop and promulgate standards based upon it (e.g. EMV).
Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 use Triple DES to password protect user content and system data.