Which of the following is a weakness of the Data Encryption Standard (DES)?

The correct answer is D. Inadequate key length. One of the weaknesses of the Data Encryption Standard (DES) is its key size. DES uses a 56-bit key, which is considered too short by modern cryptographic standards. This key size can be easily brute-forced by attackers with sufficient computing power, allowing them to decrypt DES

Submitted by priya_blr· Mar 5, 2026Security Architecture and Engineering

Question

Options

ABlock encryption scheme
BUse of same key for encryption and decryption
CPublicly disclosed algorithm
DInadequate key length

How the community answered

(54 responses)

A
6% (3)
C
2% (1)
D
93% (50)

Explanation

One of the weaknesses of the Data Encryption Standard (DES) is its key size. DES uses a 56-bit key, which is considered too short by modern cryptographic standards. This key size can be easily brute-forced by attackers with sufficient computing power, allowing them to decrypt DES- encrypted data relatively easily.

Topics

#DES#Symmetric encryption#Key length#Cryptographic weaknesses

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