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I've written a DES implementation as an exercice and am now wondering if and where (triple-)DES is used today.

I've read about banking cards using it, but I can't find any reliable source for it.

curtisk
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svens
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    Google "triple DES usage" and look at the top few results. – Bob Murphy Oct 24 '09 at 21:39
  • Search leads to some sites about payment and IPsec.. The specifications of i.E. http://www.emvco.com/specifications.aspx?id=155 list 3DES as a possibility with many alternatives. It can also be used in SSL. But I wonder wheter it's really used and not just a possibility. – svens Oct 24 '09 at 21:45
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about programming. It might be more appropriate on [security.se]. – Toby Speight Jul 25 '17 at 13:35

7 Answers7

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Triple-DES is still in use today but is widely considered a legacy encryption algorithm. DES is inherently insecure, while Triple-DES has much better security characteristics but is still considered problematic.

NIST is the government organization that standardizes on cryptographic algorithms. The most current symmetric-key encryption algorithm NIST standard is AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard. In fact, there were a number of good nominations to be NIST's AES, including the Rijndael algorithm which became AES, as well as Bruce Schneier's Blowfish, the Twofish algorithm, and the Serpent algorithm.

yfeldblum
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EDIT: @David Koontz replied to this post, and I had a chance to look 5 years into the past. I'm leaving my post intact below, but for anyone reading this now, avoid 3DES if you have the opportunity, and if not, get an expert to look at your specific system. There's no guarantee that a general answer will apply to your situation, in computer security especially.

Yes.

3DES is broken, but when a cryptographer says "broken," that means something very specific: that an attacker can break the key in better-than-brute-force time. 3DES has a key length of 168 bits, which is reduced to 112 bits by some meet-in-the-middle attack cleverness. And, to quote Wikipedia, "it is designated by NIST to have only 80 bits of security."

It's pretty badly broken, but even so, 80 bits makes for a very big number; 3DES is plenty good for beating people with fewer resources than the NSA, for example, and it will be for maybe 10 or 15 years, with some luck. The incentive to replace 3DES it isn't high enough for a lot of people who aren't using it to protect expensive things.

Nisse Engström
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ojrac
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    If you were to look at Table 4 of FIPS SP 800-57 Part 1 (now rescinded) [NIST SP 800-57, Recommendation for Key Management - Part 1: General (Revised) - sp800-57-Part1-revised2_Mar08-2007.pdf](http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-57/sp800-57-Part1-revised2_Mar08-2007.pdf "NIST SP 800-57, Recommendation for Key Management - Part 1: General (Revised) - sp800-57-Part1-revised2_Mar08-2007.pdf"), that 80 bits is a threshold requirement for 2010 protection, and you'd find that 3DES is also found in the 112 bits threshold protection for 2030. It follows the Wikipedia article misinterprets. –  Aug 01 '14 at 23:39
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To answer your question of where 3DES is being used, I would like to add that Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 use Triple DES to password protect user content and system data.

See also:

  1. 1.Daniel Escapa's OneNote Blog - Encryption for Password Protected Sections, November 2006
  2. Microsoft TechNet product documentation - Technical Reference for Cryptographic Controls Used in Configuration Manager, October 2012
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The OpenSSL library provides reliable source code for 3DES and many other cryptographic algorithms. The libcrypto documentaton on the DES_* functions describes what is available.

Greg Hewgill
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You are right about banking. But everything happens in hardware level. One popular technology is HSM.

Chrys
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I'll bet some banking cards in fact use triple des. It is remarkable how running a business ( in the real world ) diverges from what one would think just from studying the problem. Just interested or is there an actual challenge at hand? ( be it study assignment or otherwise )

Nicholas Jordan
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  • Hey, no there's no immediate challenge. I'm just thinking about chosing DES as subject for a small speech in future. – svens Oct 24 '09 at 21:49
  • ojrac's got the overview on what you are asking, google for Rijndael and just keep following links until you have enough to make your structure coherent and presentable. Right at the moment I favor KHAZAD (IPA: /xaˈzad/) is a block cipher designed by Paulo S. L. M. Barreto together with Vincent Rijmen because I find, ahem, copywrong, issues to be a greater intrusion portal than what cipher it is you are using. Google "Snake Oil FAQ" -> that if anything should be the subject of your speech. ( ps - those are recognized masters so be polite about it ) – Nicholas Jordan Oct 26 '09 at 22:23
  • Not a bad bet, actually all banking terminals that can send over a PIN use 3DES to encrypt the PIN code, this is considered industry practice within the payment industry and is done for legacy reasons. – Joeri_Damian Sep 08 '20 at 15:08
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3DES has a Problem described already in two CVE Issues which is called the SWEET32 Issue. Its base Cipher Dephth is 64Bit (though used along three Rounds) so it belongs to a Family of originally weak Ciphers as well From today's Standpoint of Security in 2017 and its probability to be broken more often and more easily, is should no longer be used.

Bernd P
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  • This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient [reputation](https://stackoverflow.com/help/whats-reputation) you will be able to [comment on any post](https://stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/comment); instead, [provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/214173/why-do-i-need-50-reputation-to-comment-what-can-i-do-instead). - [From Review](/review/low-quality-posts/16811951) – Jonathan Jul 26 '17 at 00:16
  • @Jonathan the question is "if and where (triple-)DES is used today?" the answer is "no" and given an explanation – ono2012 Jul 26 '17 at 12:47
  • @ono2012 - Thank you for clarifying! While this is true, it would be best to post that as a comment on the accepted answer so that it can be updated, rather than posting as a new answer. Sorry for the comment above - it is chosen automatically by the moderator tools, and I cannot change it. – Jonathan Jul 26 '17 at 13:35