Cryptography
Twofish
Definition
A 128-bit-block, 128/192/256-bit-key symmetric cipher designed by Schneier et al. as an AES competition finalist; secure but rarely used because AES became the standard.
Examples
- VeraCrypt lets users layer Twofish with AES and Serpent for cascade encryption.
- GnuPG supports Twofish as one of its symmetric cipher options.
Related terms
Blowfish
A 64-bit-block, variable-key-length Feistel cipher designed by Bruce Schneier in 1993; secure cryptanalytically but limited by a small block size and superseded by AES.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
A NIST-standardized 128-bit block cipher with 128-, 192- or 256-bit keys, designed by Daemen and Rijmen and used as the dominant symmetric cipher worldwide.
Block Cipher
A symmetric cipher that encrypts fixed-size blocks of plaintext with a secret key, usually combined with a mode of operation to handle data of arbitrary length.
Symmetric Encryption
An encryption scheme in which the same secret key is used for both encryption and decryption, offering high speed and strong confidentiality when the key is shared securely.
Encryption
The cryptographic transformation of plaintext into ciphertext using an algorithm and key so that only authorized parties can recover the original data.
Cipher Suite
A named combination of cryptographic algorithms — key exchange, authentication, bulk encryption, and integrity — negotiated by protocols such as TLS for a given session.