Specifies the block cipher mode to use for encryption.
(in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Enumeration CipherMode
Dim instance As CipherMode
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public enum CipherMode
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public enum class CipherMode
| Member name | Description |
|---|
.gif) | CBC | The Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode introduces feedback. Before each plain text block is encrypted, it is combined with the cipher text of the previous block by a bitwise exclusive OR operation. This ensures that even if the plain text contains many identical blocks, they will each encrypt to a different cipher text block. The initialization vector is combined with the first plain text block by a bitwise exclusive OR operation before the block is encrypted. If a single bit of the cipher text block is mangled, the corresponding plain text block will also be mangled. In addition, a bit in the subsequent block, in the same position as the original mangled bit, will be mangled. |
| ECB | The Electronic Codebook (ECB) mode encrypts each block individually. This means that any blocks of plain text that are identical and are in the same message, or in a different message encrypted with the same key, will be transformed into identical cipher text blocks. If the plain text to be encrypted contains substantial repetition, it is feasible for the cipher text to be broken one block at a time. Also, it is possible for an active adversary to substitute and exchange individual blocks without detection. If a single bit of the cipher text block is mangled, the entire corresponding plain text block will also be mangled. |
| OFB | The Output Feedback (OFB) mode processes small increments of plain text into cipher text instead of processing an entire block at a time. This mode is similar to CFB; the only difference between the two modes is the way that the shift register is filled. If a bit in the cipher text is mangled, the corresponding bit of plain text will be mangled. However, if there are extra or missing bits from the cipher text, the plain text will be mangled from that point on. |
| CFB | The Cipher Feedback (CFB) mode processes small increments of plain text into cipher text, instead of processing an entire block at a time. This mode uses a shift register that is one block in length and is divided into sections. For example, if the block size is eight bytes, with one byte processed at a time, the shift register is divided into eight sections. If a bit in the cipher text is mangled, one plain text bit is mangled and the shift register is corrupted. This results in the next several plain text increments being mangled until the bad bit is shifted out of the shift register. |
| CTS | The Cipher Text Stealing (CTS) mode handles any length of plain text and produces cipher text whose length matches the plain text length. This mode behaves like the CBC mode for all but the last two blocks of the plain text. |
Block cipher algorithms encrypt data in block units, rather than a single byte at a time. The most common block size is eight bytes. Because each block is heavily processed, block ciphers provide a higher level of security than stream ciphers. However, block cipher algorithms tend to execute more slowly than stream ciphers.
Block ciphers use the same encryption algorithm for each block. Because of this, a block of plain text will always return the same cipher text when encrypted with the same key and algorithm. Because this behavior can be used to crack a cipher, cipher modes are introduced that modify the encryption process based on feedback from earlier block encryptions. The resulting encryption provides a higher level of security than a simple block encryption.
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 2.0
Reference
Other Resources