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From stolen bank details to intercepted messages, cybercrime is a constant threat — but one powerful defense stands out. AES encryption techniques are the gold standard in digital security for keeping information private and secure. In this article, we’ll break down what AES is, how it works, and how Avast SecureLine VPN leverages it to help safeguard your online activity.
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AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, a powerful data protection method developed by the U.S. government in the late 1990s. It uses an algorithm known as a symmetric block cipher to encrypt plaintext into unreadable “ciphertext” code in fixed-size blocks, which can only be decrypted with the original encryption key.
And that’s where the “symmetric” part comes in — because the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. AES is both more efficient and secure than other encryption methods. Its combination of strength and ease of use has made it a global standard for securing data.
AES uses the same key for encryption and decryption.
AES encryption is trusted by governments, militaries, and financial institutions worldwide to protect highly sensitive information, but it’s also more widely used to secure data across various platforms and services. In fact, you almost certainly already rely on AES in your daily digital life without even realizing it.
Common uses of AES encryption include:
Internet security: AES secures online activity through Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.
Email encryption: Many encryption tools use AES to protect the contents of sensitive emails.
Financial transactions: Banks rely on AES to encrypt credit card numbers and other financial data.
Wi-Fi: AES powers modern Wi-Fi encryption standards like WPA2 and WPA3 to secure home and business networks.
Password managers: The best password managers use AES to safeguard stored passwords and other credentials.
Secure browsers: Privacy-focused secure browsers rely on AES to protect user data.
Secure messaging apps: Many encrypted messaging platforms use AES to ensure private communication.
Encrypted files: Compressed file formats like RAR files can be secured with AES encryption.
Dark web access: When you access the dark web via Tor, your web traffic is encrypted via multiple layers of AES protection, helping keep your activity private.
VPNs: Top VPNs like Avast SecureLine VPN use AES-enabled encryption protocols to secure your internet connection.
A VPN hides your online activity from others.
What makes the latest AES standards so secure is the staggering number of possible key combinations. In brute-force attacks, hackers attempt to decrypt data by trying every possible key one by one — but with AES, the key space is so vast that even the fastest supercomputers would need billions of years to crack it.
And AES doesn’t rely on a single transformation to protect data. Instead, it uses a layered approach based on well-established cryptographic principles. Each round of AES encryption applies a series of four core operations:
Substitution: Each byte of the plaintext is replaced with a cipher, or encrypted text.
Shifting: Rows of the data matrix are cyclically shifted to further scramble the structure.
Mixing: Columns of data are mathematically combined to diffuse patterns and relationships.
Key addition: A specific portion of the original encryption key is applied to each data block.
These operations are repeated over multiple rounds (depending on the key length), creating layers of complexity that make unauthorized decryption nearly impossible.
AES involves multiple layers of encryption, making it almost impossible to crack without a key.
AES-256 encryption offers stronger security than the older AES-128 standard, due to its longer key length and added complexity. In AES, a longer key dramatically increases the number of possible combinations an attacker would need to try in a brute-force attack, while also introducing more encryption rounds, enhancing resistance to cryptographic attacks.
AES supports three standard key lengths:
128-bit keys (AES-128): 10 rounds of encryption
192-bit keys (AES-192): 12 rounds of encryption
256-bit keys (AES-256): 14 rounds of encryption
While AES-128 is still considered highly secure and efficient for most use-cases, AES-256 offers much greater protection, even against emerging or future threats like quantum computing or highly distributed brute-force attempts. For this reason, the U.S. government requires its use to secure top-secret classified information.
Encryption isn’t just for cybersecurity experts — it’s for anyone who wants to keep their personal data safe.
Avast SecureLine VPN uses the same powerful AES-256 encryption trusted by banks, governments, and security professionals worldwide to secure your internet traffic and help protect everything from your login credentials to your browsing history. Get Avast SecureLine VPN today to turn your internet connection into a digital fortress.
