Encryption plays a critical role in keeping sensitive data sent online and stored in computer systems from being stolen, sabotaged, or otherwise compromised. In short, it's a method of masking information by making it unreadable to those who don't have a special decryption key—and if you’re using any service that utilizes an encryption algorithm, you should be the only one with the key.
Utilized by the safest VPNs, secure databases, and even the US government, 256-bit AES is considered to be an essential encryption standard today. Meanwhile, more and more companies are switching to a cutting-edge XChaCha20 as a newer, simpler, and faster alternative. So what are the differences between the two? What makes them special?
What Is 256-bit AES?
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a symmetric-key algorithm the US government picked out to protect its top-secret information. AES utilizes a block cipher to encrypt data—it turns soon-to-be-encrypted data into blocks and then encrypts them in batches.
While all three types of AES (128-, 192-, and 256-bit) use the same 128-bit blocks, the length of the key they use varies. As its name suggests, 256-bit AES encryption uses the 256-bit key length to encrypt (and later decrypt) a data block. Then, each block will go through 14 rounds of encryption before it can be securely shared over the internet. This makes 256-bit AES the strongest out of the three types of AES and immune to even the most intense brute-force attacks.
Since 256-bit AES is a symmetric encryption, it uses only one key for encrypting and decrypting. For instance, if you’re using secure collaboration tools to share a sensitive document with someone, you’ll require the same key to decrypt the data and make it readable.
Even if you fall victim to a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack and cybercriminals get their hands on your sensitive data, they won’t be able to use it in its encrypted form.
What Is XChaCha20 Encryption?
Unlike 256-bit AES, the XChaCha20 algorithm is a stream cipher encryption type, which means it encrypts each bit of data separately instead of dividing data into blocks. Like its competitor, it’s symmetric—meaning it uses a single key to cipher and decipher data—but there is also an asymmetric version of it.
Since XChaCha20 skips the block dividing business, it makes the whole process simpler and faster than 256-bit AES. Also, XChaCha20’s secret key is 256-bits long, so there’s no chance you’ll end up with a less secure version of it.
While it doesn’t enjoy the same popularity as 256-bit AES, XChaCha20 is steadily climbing the charts as companies such as Google, Cloudflare, and Nord Security are embracing it. NordPass even goes so far as to call XChaCha20 “the future of encryption”, predicting that more and more mobile platforms will be moving to it soon.
This is no surprise since encryption technology has become an essential part of the modern world, giving you an easy way to encrypt your daily life.
What’s the Difference Between 256-bit AES and XChaCha20 Encryption?
256-Bit AES is a block cipher while XChaCha20 is a stream cipher, which is the primary difference between the two from which all other differences derive.
- Being a block-based encryption, 256-bit AES is more complex than XChaCha20. It makes encrypting itself slightly more secure but doesn’t do much for overall security—quite the contrary. The more complex the algorithm is, the higher the risk that someone in the chain will make a mistake and expose data to cyber threats.
- 256-bit AES comes in three versions (128-, 192-, and 256-bit), while there’s only a 256-bit version of XChaCha20.
- Unlike 256-bit AES, XChaCha20 can run smoothly without special hardware, which makes the encryption easier to implement and less prone to technical and human errors.
- XChaCha20 is faster than 256-bit AES, so it’s less likely you’ll get annoyed by slow connection speeds. Without special hardware, 256-bit AES falls behind its hardware-free competitor. Plus, stream ciphers are significantly faster than their block-based counterparts.
- 256-bit AES has been around for over two decades and enjoys an excellent reputation. Meanwhile, XChaCha20 is still the new kid on the cybersecurity block and hasn't had the chance to enjoy the same popularity yet.
256-Bit AES or XChaCha20: Which Is More Secure?
Although 256-bit AES and XChaCha20 have their own advantages and disadvantages, both can significantly boost your security and protect your digital privacy. While complexity makes 256-bit AES strong, XChaCha20 encryption is actually strengthened by its inherent simplicity.
In the end, 256-bit AES is still an industry standard. However, XChaCha20 is swiftly catching up with it in this race, boasting speed, simplicity, and eagerness to take future cybersecurity challenges head on.
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FAQs
The Key Schedule
Of the two, the AES-128 key schedule is actually more secure. The AES-256 key schedule has known weaknesses that might make it possible to perform related key attacks against the algorithm. A related key attack should never happen in real life.
What is more secure than AES-256? ›
The Key Schedule
Of the two, the AES-128 key schedule is actually more secure. The AES-256 key schedule has known weaknesses that might make it possible to perform related key attacks against the algorithm. A related key attack should never happen in real life.
What is the difference between sha256 and XChaCha20? ›
The main difference between AES-256 and XChaCha20 encryption is that AES-256 is a block cipher, whereas XChaCha20 is a stream cipher. Also, AES encryption has built up quite a reputation (hence why it's called the “advanced encryption standard”), while XChaCha20 is still fairly new.
Is ChaCha20 vulnerable? ›
Compared to AES-GCM, implementations of ChaCha20-Poly1305 are less vulnerable to timing attacks. To be noted, when the SSH protocol uses ChaCha20-Poly1305 as underlying primitive, it is vulnerable to the Terrapin attack.
Which AES is most secure? ›
AES-256 encryption is extremely secure. It is the most secure encryption algorithm available today and is used extensively in government and military applications, as well as by businesses operating in highly regulated industries.
Is the XChaCha20 secure? ›
eXtended-nonce ChaCa20 (XChaCha20) is a variant of ChaCha20 that uses a 192-bit nonce instead of a 96-bit nonce. This makes picking a random nonce notably safer, as there's effectively no chance that it could be re-used. (“Bits” refers to the size or length of the cryptographic keys.
Is ChaCha20 better than AES? ›
Generally speaking, ChaCha20 is faster than AES on platforms that do not have dedicated hardware support for AES, such as mobile devices or embedded systems. However, AES can outperform ChaCha20 on platforms that have AES-NI (AES New Instructions) or similar features, such as modern desktops or servers.
Who uses XChaCha20? ›
Companies like Google and Cloudflare use XChaCha20 encryption to ensure fast and safe connections for their users.
What is more secure than SHA-256? ›
Strengths and Weaknesses of SHA-512
SHA-512 typically delivers a slower performance compared to SHA-256. However, regarding security, SHA-512 takes the upper hand with its longer hash output size.
Should I use SHA-256 or sha512? ›
SHA-2 (including SHA-256) offers a nice balance between speed and security, while SHA-512 has a larger hash size and is slower but offers higher security. Thus, when choosing between SHA-256 vs. SHA-512 algorithms, you must consider the trade-off between speed and security.
Unlike 256-bit AES, the XChaCha20 algorithm is a stream cipher encryption type, which means it encrypts each bit of data separately instead of dividing data into blocks. Like its competitor, it's symmetric—meaning it uses a single key to cipher and decipher data—but there is also an asymmetric version of it.
How big is the key in XChaCha20? ›
The secret key is 256 bits long (32 bytes). The cipher requires a nonce, which must not be reused across encryptions performed with the same key.
What is the weakness of ChaCha20-Poly1305? ›
The SSH specifications of ChaCha20-Poly1305 ( [email protected] ) and Encrypt-then-MAC ( *[email protected] MACs) are vulnerable against an arbitrary prefix truncation attack (a.k.a. Terrapin attack).
Can AES-256 be hacked? ›
AES comes in 128, 192, and 256 bits. AES-256 uses a 256-bit key to convert plain text into cipher. AES-256 supports the largest bit size and is a widely used encryption technology because it is virtually impenetrable to brute-force attacks.
Why is 256-bit AES so secure? ›
The exceptional security of AES 256 lies in its robust key length, rendering it exceedingly resistant to brute force attacks. The encryption process incorporates multiple rounds of data substitution, permutation, and mixing, fortifying its resistance to decryption without the correct key.
Which encryption is better than AES? ›
RSA encryption methods, it is essential to understand their unique strengths and applications. While AES is a symmetric algorithm designed for rapid data encryption and decryption, RSA is an asymmetric method used primarily for secure key exchange and digital signatures.
What is more secure than sha256? ›
Strengths and Weaknesses of SHA-512
SHA-512 typically delivers a slower performance compared to SHA-256. However, regarding security, SHA-512 takes the upper hand with its longer hash output size.
Is there an AES 512? ›
AES-512 will be suitable for applications with high security and throughput requirements and with less chip area constrains such as multimedia and satellite communication systems.
Which is better PGP or AES 256 encryption? ›
When you are considering which encryption to use for your sensitive information, choose whichever will suit your needs best: AES is fast and works best in closed systems and large databases. PGP should be used when sharing information across an open network, but it can be slower and works better for individual files.
What is the strongest and most secure encryption? ›
AES 256-bit encryption is the strongest and most robust encryption standard that is commercially available today. While it is theoretically true that AES 256-bit encryption is harder to crack than AES 128-bit encryption, AES 128-bit encryption has never been cracked.
