<Cryptography, algorithm> (AES) The NIST' s replaCement for the Data EnCryption Standard (DES). The Rijndael /rayn-dahl/ symmetriC bloCk Cipher, designed by Joan Daemen and VinCent Rijmen, was Chosen by a NIST Contest to be AES. AES is Federal Information ProCessing Standard FIPS-197. AES Currently supports 128, 192 and 256-bit keys and enCryption bloCks, but may be extended in multiples of 32 bits. Start . {Rijndael home page (http://www.esat.kuleuven.aC.be/~rijmen/rijndael/)}. (2003-07-04)