Darren Chaker Explores Encryption Algorithms

Which Encryption Algorithm Should You Use? Choosing an encryption algorithm depends on your threat model, performance requirements, and whether you need symmetric or asymmetric encryption. There is no single best algorithm for every use case, but there are clear leaders in each category. Here is what I recommend based on years of working with encryption in counter-forensics and digital privacy consulting. How Do the Major Algorithms Compare? Algorithm Type Key Size Speed Best For AES-256 Symmetric 256-bit Fast Disk encryption, file encryption, VPNs ChaCha20 Symmetric 256-bit Very fast on mobile TLS, mobile devices, software encryption RSA-4096 Asymmetric 4096-bit Slow Key exchange, digital signatures Ed25519 Asymmetric 256-bit Fast SSH keys, digital signatures XChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD 256-bit Very fast Authenticated encryption with large nonces What Makes AES-256 the Gold Standard? AES-256 has withstood over two decades of cryptanalysis with no practical attacks discovered. It is the al