The encryption/decryption algorithms vary in complexity and speed and rely on iterative applications of Exclusive OR (XOR) on various combinations of key and data. This range of complexity and speed makes symmetric key algorithms a common choice for providing data privacy and authentication services. Three common algorithms, used by OpenEdge, are:

  • DES — Data Encryption Standard
  • DES3 — Triple DES
  • AES — Advanced Encryption Standard

The AES cipher is the current U.S. government standard for all software, and is recognized worldwide.

The DES ciphers are primarily supported for PBE standard that provides the option of generating an encryption key based on a passphrase.