Definition
RC6 (Rivest Cipher 6) is a symmetric key block cipher that uses fixed-size blocks for efficient encryption and decryption. Ronald Rivest developed this encryption method in 1997.
RC6 supports various key sizes, allowing it to meet diverse security needs. Despite being old, RC6 is still a relevant and robust encryption method for protecting sensitive information.
Functioning of RC6
- RC6 processes the plaintext and splits it into fixed-size blocks.
- Before decryption or encryption, a secret key is configured for RC6 to ascertain how information will be scrambled.
- RC6 applies modular arithmetic and bitwise operations to scramble the data (confusion) and disperse each bit’s influence across the entire block (diffusion).
- RC6 repeats multiple operations (rounds) several times to enhance security. Increasing the number of rounds makes it more difficult for anyone to break the encryption.
- In the encryption process, RC6 processes each plaintext block and repeats the rounds, mixing data according to the key.
- RC6 reverses the rounds using the same secret key to decrypt the cipher text to the original message.
History of RC6
Ronald Rivest, co-founder of RSA security, introduced RC6 in 1997. At that time, there was a need for a robust and flexible encryption method that could support several key sizes and provide higher security levels.