BATON
BATON is a Type 1 block cipher in use since at least 1995 by the United States government to secure classified information.
| General | |
|---|---|
| Designers | National Security Agency |
| Cipher detail | |
| Key sizes | 320 bits (160 effective) |
| Block sizes | 96, 128 bits |
While the BATON algorithm itself is secret (as is the case with all algorithms in the NSA's Suite A), the public PKCS#11 standard includes some general information about how it is used. It has a 320-bit key and uses a 128-bit block in most modes, and also supports a 96-bit electronic codebook mode. 160 bits of the key are checksum material. It supports a "shuffle" mode of operation, like the NSA cipher JUNIPER. It may use up to 192 bits as an initialization vector, regardless of the block size.
In response to a Senate question about encrypted video links, the NSA said that BATON could be used for encryption at speeds higher than those possible with Skipjack.