U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, William M. Daley, Secretary
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY,
Raymond G. Kammer, Director
Foreword
The Federal Information Processing Standards Publication Series of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) is the official series of publications relating to standards and
guidelines adopted and promulgated under the provisions of Section 5131 of the Information
Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-106), and the Computer Security
Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-235). These mandates have given the Secretary of Commerce and
NIST important responsibilities for improving the utilization and management of computer and
related telecommunications systems in the Federal Government. The NIST, through its Information
Technology Laboratory, provides leadership, technical guidance, and coordination of Government
efforts in the development of standards and guidelines in these areas.
Comments concerning Federal Information Processing Standards Publications are welcomed and
should be addressed to the Director, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr. Stop 8900, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8900.
William Mehuron, Director
Information Technology Laboratory
Abstract
The selective application of technological and related procedural safeguards is an important
responsibility of every Federal organization in providing adequate security to its electronic data
systems. This publication specifies two cryptographic algorithms, the Data Encryption Standard
(DES) and the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA) which may be used by Federal
organizations to protect sensitive data. Protection of data during transmission or while in storage
may be necessary to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the information represented by the
data. The algorithms uniquely define the mathematical steps required to transform data into a
cryptographic cipher and also to transform the cipher back to the original form. The Data Encryption
Standard is being made available for use by Federal agencies within the context of a total security
program consisting of physical security procedures, good information management practices, and
computer system/network access controls. This revision supersedes FIPS 46-2 in its entirety.
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