What level of encryption does GPG use????

Leigh S. Jones, KR6X kr6x@kr6x.com
Mon May 13 17:22:01 2002


Here's the info:

CAST5     128
Twofish     256
Blowfish    128
3DES        ~112 with 168 bit key
AES           128, 192, or 256 available
Idea            128 (plug-in)

Although it's possible to manually select
which encryption algorithm will be used by
the use of options on the command line or
in the options file, most users will allow the 
algorithm selected by gpg to be used when
encrypting to be the first or second choice
on the list of preferences on the key used
for encryption.

3DES was once thought to have an 
encryption strength of 168 bits, but the
latest cryptographic attacks have effectively
weakened the effectiveness of this 
encryption method.  AES is also known
as Rijndael and is a good choice for 
security according to the US government,
plus it interoperates with both PGP and
gpg.  Idea is not provided with the base
release of gpg due to patent issues.  The
patent is a US patent that does not apply
to countries outside of the US, and the 
idea patent holder will not enforce it in
the US against private not-for-profit use.
Idea has been, however, the algorithm of
choice for PGP since it was written, 
although OpenPGP compliant versions
of PGP (PGP 2 is not in this category) will
use the preference list on the key.

 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "deepesh pradeep chourey" <deepeshch@rediffmail.com>
To: <gnupg-users@gnupg.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 12, 2002 23:58
Subject: What level of encryption does GPG use????


> Hello all,
> Can anyone tell me, Does GPG use 128 bit encryption or any other 
> level???
> 
> Regards
> Deepesh.
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