RC5 facts for kids
In cryptography, RC5 is a simple symmetric-key block cipher. Designed by Ronald Rivest in 1994, RC5 is a parameterized algorithm with a variable block size, a variable key size, and a variable number of rounds. "RC" stands for "Rivest Cipher", or alternatively, "Ron's Code".
In order to provide varieties of security and efficiency levels; RC5 has a variable block size (32, 64 or 128 bits), variable key size (0 to 2040 bits) and variable number of rounds (0 to 255). The original suggested choice of parameters were a block size of 64 bits, a 128-bit key and 12 rounds.
A key feature of RC5 is the use of data-dependent rotations; one of the goals of RC5 was to study and evaluate operations of block ciphers as a cryptographic primitive. RC5 also consists of a number of modular additions and eXclusive OR (Xor)s. The general structure of the algorithm is a Feistel-like network. The encryption and decryption routines can be specified in a few lines of code. The key schedule, however, is more complex, expanding the key using an essentially one-way function with the binary expansions of both e and the golden ratio as sources of "nothing up my sleeve numbers". The simplicity of the algorithm together with the novelty of the data-dependent rotations has made RC5 an attractive subject to study by cryptanalysts.
See also
In Spanish: RC5 para niños
