What Is the XChaCha20 Encryption Algorithm?
Encryption is a method of securing data through a process that involves encoding information in order to make it unreadable to anyone without a special key. Or, in simpler terms, encryption is a way to transform readable data into unreadable data.
Encryption is done with the help of algorithms, mathematical formulas that guide and shape the entire procedure. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is the most widely-used encryption algorithm today, but that may soon change with more companies adopting XChaCha20.
How Does XChaCha20 Encryption Work?
XChaCha20 is a modified version of the ChaCha encryption algorithm, which was developed by the famous German-American computer scientist and cryptologist, Daniel J. Bernstein.
XChaCha20 is asymmetric encryption algorithm, which means it uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt data. And because it ciphers each bit of data separately, it is much faster than other types of encryption. This is arguably one of its greatest advantages, and one of the reasons some experts believe it will become more popular very soon.
Additionally, XChaCha20 does not require hardware support. It is much simpler thanAES-256 encryption, and thus less prone to human error.
Who Already Uses XChaCha20 Encryption?
But just how popular is XChaCha20 today, and who uses it? Google embraced this encryption algorithm a few years ago, and other companies quickly followed.
For example,Cloudflareadded XChaCha20 back in 2015. In a blog post published at the time, the company noted that it was switching to XChaCha20 because it improves mobile performance.
The password managerNordPassalso uses XChaCha20 to secure its systems. In fact, NordPass claims that XChaCha20 is “the future of encryption,” not just because it is three times faster and much simpler than AES-256, but because AES-256 will become “crackable” in the near future.
With these industry giants already on board, you may see why XChaCha20 is gaining traction.
The Future of Encryption?
Whether more tech companies embrace XChaCha20 or not, encryption technology will definitely play a key role in securing data in the immediate future. This is why everyone should have a basic understanding of encryption, and at the very least learn the most commonly used terms.
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