Symmetric Ciphers

Symmetric ciphers use the same key for encrypting and decrypting data.

Symmetric ciphers are usually faster as they require less computational resources due to only needing one key.

There are two types of symmetric ciphers:

• Block ciphers encrypt data in fixed blocks such as the AES.
• Stream ciphers encrypt data one bit at a time

Often, symmetric ciphers are preferred for large data and used in combination with asymmetric ciphers for more security.