About RC6
RC6 is a symmetric key block cipher derived from RC5. It was designed by Ron Rivest, Matt
Robshaw, Ray Sidney, and Yiqun Lisa Yin to meet the requirements of the Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) competition. Although it was a finalist in the AES competition, it was not
selected as the standard.
Key Features:
- Block Size: 128 bits
- Key Size: Variable (128, 192, or 256 bits)
- Rounds: 20
- Structure: Feistel-like network with data-dependent rotations
- Operations: Integer addition, XOR, and data-dependent rotations
Advantages:
- Fast performance on 32-bit processors
- Simple design with strong security properties
- Flexible key size options
- Data-dependent rotations provide good diffusion
Disadvantages:
- Patented (though now free to use)
- Not as widely implemented as AES
- Requires more computational resources than some other ciphers