Cryptography/Data Encryption Standard
The Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm uses a key to encrypt/decipher a 64 bit block data. It first divide the data in to 64 bit data and then adds the key to every 64 bit block while encription/deciphering. At the receivers end it asks for key to decript/cipher it.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Data_Encription_Standard_Flow_Diagram.svg/200px-Data_Encription_Standard_Flow_Diagram.svg.png)
DES has been replaced by Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (Advanced Encryption Standard) as the National Security Agency's official "secure encryption" algorithm.
External Links
editFederal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 46-3