We describe MARS, a shared-key (symmetric) block cipher supporting 128-bit blocks and variable key size. MARS is designed to take advantage of the powerful operations supported in today’s computers, resulting in a much improved security/performance tradeoff over existing ciphers. As a result, MARS offers better security than triple DES while running significantly faster than single DES. The current C implementation runs at rates of about 65 Mbit/sec.On a 200 MHz Pentium-Pro, and 85 Mbit/sec. on a 200 MHz PowerPC. In hardware, MARS can achieve a 10x speedup factor. Still, both hardware and software implementations of MARS are remarkably compact, and easily fit on a smartcard and in other limited-resource environments. The combination of high security, high speed, and flexibility, makes MARS an excellent choice for the encryption needs of the information world well into the next century.
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