Data encryption performance and evaluation schemes

With the explosion in Internet-based electronic commerce, there is an increasing need to secure data and commercial transactions. While there are several encryption methodologies, such as the DES (Data Encryption Standard) and the RSA (Rivest, Shamir, Adleman) algorithm, there is a continuous need to develop other algorithms, especially taking into consideration the recent advances in hardware and storage technologies and software distributed computing capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of investigations conducted by the authors regarding the emerging data security methodologies. Emphasis is placed on the applicability of these algorithms in the academic, industrial and commercial environments. Of the several methodologies considered for the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines) has become one of the front-running and adaptable methodologies for data security over global networks. Initiated by NIST (National Institute of Standards), the MARS cipher was developed by IBM as an alternative to the existing DES methodology; MARS is expected to be more secure.