How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (2024)

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Keep your data private with your very own encryption algorithm

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Last Updated: May 15, 2023

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  • Creating the Encryption Method
  • |
  • Publish the Algorithm
  • |
  • |
  • Tips
  • |
  • Warnings

Whatever your reason is for wanting to create an encryption program, creating one can be fun and very challenging. However, it might be tough to figure out how you do it if it is your first time. This article covers the general idea and the basic steps you'll need to take in order to create a functional and realistic encryption program.

Things You Should Know

  • When you first determine your encryption algorithm, you should test it with a short message.
  • Authorized parties should still be able to access encrypted data in case of an emergency, so be sure to consider methods of decryption as well.
  • Once you have finalized your encryption algorithm, share it as a challenge on a forum to see if other programmers can confirm its reliability.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Creating the Encryption Method

  1. 1

    Design the algorithm. A general algorithm is the backbone of all encryption methods. RSA uses mathematical properties of large prime numbers to quickly and safely encrypt private data. Bitcoin uses a version of RSA to safely secure payments and ensure that the sender actually wants to send bitcoins to another user. You should do research on various types of encryption algorithms, like private and public key encryption. It should be noted that no encryption, if you plan on retrieving the data, is unbreakable. Encryption can only discourage casual snooping, and delay serious attacks. It is recommended that you learn what binary is, it will make creating your algorithm much easier and more relevant to data encryption.

  2. 2

    Test your algorithm. Once you think you've got a good algorithm, you should try encrypting a very short message by hand. This should take more than a few minutes for good encryption algorithms. A good rule of thumb is that, if you can encrypt the message in your head, then it is not safe for serious encryption. If the final message looks similar, in any way, to the original message, then it might not be safe.

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  3. 3

    Consider decryption. There needs to be a way for authorized parties to access data encrypted by your algorithm. You should make sure that you can easily decode the data if you know the key, and make it hard for attackers to accidentally stumble upon the key through trial and error.

    • If you do not want the data to be retrievable at all, consider creating a hashing algorithm instead. A hashing algorithm takes an input and creates a one-way value based on this input. It's possible to go from source input to a hashed value, but it is ideally impossible to go back to the source input from the hashed value. This is particularly viable for password protection. When you create an account on a website with a password, ethical websites will hash your password before storing it. This has many benefits, such as delaying attackers from cracking your password. However, if you forget the password, you'll be forced to create a new one.
  4. 4

    Draft the pseudocode. This should be relatively easy once you have your algorithm created and tested to prove that it works. The pseudocode should read like simple and instructive English, being readable enough for a normal person to understand, and instructive enough for a programmer to easily implement the algorithm into a language like C, Java, etc.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Publish the Algorithm

  1. 1

    Share your algorithm with other data encryption enthusiasts. This will allow you to discover possible trapdoors in your encryption, and get feedback on the security and viability of the algorithm. If your algorithm is so complex that no one can understand it, then no one will use it. But the same goes for if the algorithm is so easy that anyone can decode a message with minimal effort.

  2. 2

    Post a challenge on a forum. There are forums dedicated to solving and decoding data, try publishing a short message you encrypted along with hints about the algorithm used. If you're feeling confident, you can even give them your algorithm and see how long it takes for others to crack it through brute force.

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Community Q&A

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  • Question

    Is there a software that specifically encrypts?

    How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (9)

    Daniel Wilson

    Community Answer

    Encryption software is useful, but can be hard to find. If you are looking for an encrypted search engine, try Tor, it is almost impossible to hack (it was first developed by the US Navy). However, always be careful, it is the doorstep to the dark web.

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  • Question

    If I replace each character with two other characters, is it 8 bit encryption or 16 bit encryption?

    How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (10)

    Daniel

    Community Answer

    Neither. It would be 2-bit encryption; a number of bits equal the number of characters.

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      Tips

      • Start with learning how other popular encryption algorithms work. RSA is unique and widely used in the real world for data encryption.

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      • Creating a good encryption algorithm is never easy, especially if it's your first time. Start with an idea, and build upon it. If you notice a flaw, it may be easier to start over completely instead of trying to patch the flaw.

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      How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (11)

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      Warnings

      • An encryption algorithm should work on the bit level of information. Avoid simply creating a cipher that only works with changing letters in a message to something slightly different. These are always insecure.

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      • Unless you have a degree in information theory or security, you probably shouldn't use your encryption to secure your passwords or other private information.

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      • No encryption is perfect. If you plan on retrieving the data you encrypt, this alone creates a hole in your encryption. Even when you don't want to retrieve the data, it can still be, at least theoretically, cracked and discovered.

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      About This Article

      wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 81,501 times.

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      Updated: May 15, 2023

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      How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (26)

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      How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps (2024)

      FAQs

      How to Build an Encryption Algorithm: 6 Steps? ›

      An encryption algorithm is the method used to transform data into ciphertext. An algorithm will use the encryption key in order to alter the data in a predictable way, so that even though the encrypted data will appear random, it can be turned back into plaintext by using the decryption key.

      How is encryption algorithm created? ›

      An encryption algorithm is the method used to transform data into ciphertext. An algorithm will use the encryption key in order to alter the data in a predictable way, so that even though the encrypted data will appear random, it can be turned back into plaintext by using the decryption key.

      What are the 4 components of encryption? ›

      The main components of an encryption system are: (1) plaintext (not encrypted message), (2) encryption algorithm (works like a locking mechanism to a safe), (3) key (works like the safe's combination), and (4) ciphertext (produced from plaintext message by encryption key).

      What are the 5 stages of encryption? ›

      The encryption process step (step 4, above) is further broken down into five stages:
      • Key transformation.
      • Expansion permutation.
      • S-Box permutation.
      • P-Box permutation.
      • XOR and swap.
      Jul 5, 2023

      What are the 4 steps of AES algorithm? ›

      To review the overall structure of AES and to focus particularly on the four steps used in each round of AES: (1) byte substitution, (2) shift rows, (3) mix columns, and (4) add round key. Python and Perl implementations for creating the lookup tables for the byte substitution steps in encryption and decryption.

      Can I make my own encryption algorithm? ›

      It is recommended that you learn what binary is, it will make creating your algorithm much easier and more relevant to data encryption. Test your algorithm. Once you think you've got a good algorithm, you should try encrypting a very short message by hand.

      What is the simple algorithm for encryption? ›

      One very basic symmetric encryption algorithm is known as the rotational cipher. In this algorithm, the sender simply "adds" the key to each character of the cleartext message to form the ciphertext. For example, if the key is 2, "A" would become "C", "B" would become "D", and so on.

      What is the first step of encryption? ›

      1. Define security requirements. Scoping out the general security landscape of your organization is an important first step in any encryption strategy. Encryption systems vary in strength and processing capabilities, so it's important to assess your current security needs before buying into a solution.

      What are the three 3 different encryption methods? ›

      The various encryption types. The three major encryption types are DES, AES, and RSA. While there are many kinds of encryption - more than can easily be explained here - we will take a look at these three significant types of encryption that consumers use every day.

      What are the 3 popular forms of encryption? ›

      3 Types of Encryption to Protect Your Data
      • Symmetric. The symmetric encryption method uses a single key both to encrypt and decrypt the data. ...
      • Asymmetric. The second major encryption method is asymmetric encryption, also sometimes known as public key encryption. ...
      • Hashing.

      What are the two basic methods used in encryption algorithms? ›

      All encryption algorithms are based on two general principles substitution, and transposition.

      What is an example of a data encryption algorithm? ›

      Examples of symmetric encryption include- Blowfish, AES, DES. Both sender and recipient have to keep their keys secret. The key can be some random letters, numbers or even a string. It is one of the oldest methods of encryption.

      What algorithm is used to encrypt files? ›

      RSA is a public-key encryption algorithm and the standard for encrypting data sent over the internet. It also happens to be one of the methods used in PGP and GPG programs. Unlike Triple DES, RSA is considered an asymmetric algorithm due to its use of a pair of keys.

      What are the 3 steps of cryptography? ›

      Step 1: Encrypt the original message using symmetric key cryptography. Step 2: Encrypt the key used in step one using the receiver's public key i.e. using asymmetric key cryptography. Step 3: Send both the encrypted message and encrypted symmetric key to the receiver.

      What is the correct order of data encryption? ›

      First compress and then encrypt is best. However there is more to good encryption than just the order of encrypt and compress. Ideally you should use non-deterministic authenticated encryption.

      What are the processes of encryption and decryption? ›

      Encryption is the process by which a readable message is converted to an unreadable form to prevent unauthorized parties from reading it. Decryption is the process of converting an encrypted message back to its original (readable) format. The original message is called the plaintext message.

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