AES-128 Encryption System in C

For my end-of-year project during my freshman year of college, I implemented the AES-128 encryption algorithm from scratch in C. AES, or the Advanced Encryption Standard, is a cryptography standard used to encrypt data to ensure its security. Established in the late 2000s, AES is the most significant and widely used symmetric block cipher. By 2010, it was the most popular file encryption method globally, commonly used in Wi-Fi security, particularly in WPA2-PSK (AES). It is estimated that AES encrypts over 50% of all data worldwide and is even used by the U.S. National Security Agency to encrypt classified information. The “128” in AES-128 refers to the 128-bit key used for encryption and decryption.

The project involved studying and understanding the intricate AES encryption algorithm and then implementing it in C. You can find more information about the AES encryption algorithm here.