RC6

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Block cipher

title: "RC6" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["block-ciphers"] description: "Block cipher" topic_path: "technology/cryptography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RC6" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Block cipher ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox block cipher"]

FieldValue
nameRC6
image[[Image:RC6 Cryptography Algorithm.JPG
captionThe Feistel function of the RC6 algorithm.
designersRon Rivest, Matt Robshaw, Ray Sidney, Yiqun Lisa Yin
publish date1998
derived fromRC5
certificationAES finalist
key size128, 192, or 256 bits
block size128 bits
structureFeistel network (Type 2)
rounds20
::

::callout[type=note]

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| name = RC6 | image = [[Image:RC6 Cryptography Algorithm.JPG|300px|center]] | caption = The Feistel function of the RC6 algorithm. | designers = Ron Rivest, Matt Robshaw, Ray Sidney, Yiqun Lisa Yin | publish date = 1998 | derived from = RC5 | derived to = | related to = | certification = AES finalist | key size = 128, 192, or 256 bits | block size = 128 bits | structure = Feistel network (Type 2) | rounds = 20 | cryptanalysis = In cryptography, RC6 is a symmetric key block cipher derived from RC5. It was designed by Ron Rivest, Matt Robshaw, Ray Sidney, and Yiqun Lisa Yin to meet the requirements of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) competition. The algorithm was one of the five finalists, and also was submitted to the NESSIE and CRYPTREC projects. It was a proprietary algorithm, patented by RSA Security. According to Ron Rivest, the RC stands for Ron's Code, but the RC documentation says simply RC6.

RC6 proper has a block size of 128 bits and supports key sizes of 128, 192, and 256 bits up to 2040-bits, but, like RC5, it may be parameterised to support a wide variety of word-lengths, key sizes, and number of rounds. RC6 is very similar to RC5 in structure, using data-dependent rotations, modular addition, and XOR operations; in fact, RC6 could be viewed as interweaving two parallel RC5 encryption processes, although RC6 does use an extra multiplication operation not present in RC5 in order to make the rotation dependent on every bit in a word, and not just the least significant few bits.

Encryption/decryption

The key expansion algorithm is practically identical to that of RC5. The only difference is that for RC6, more words are derived from the user-supplied key.

::code[lang=C] // Encryption/Decryption with RC6-w/r/b // // Input: Plaintext stored in four w-bit input registers A, B, C & D // r is the number of rounds // w-bit round keys S[0, ... , 2r + 3] // // Output: Ciphertext stored in A, B, C, D // // '''Encryption Procedure:'''

B = B + S[0]
D = D + S[1]
for i = 1 to r do
{
	t = (B * (2B + 1)) <<< lg w
	u = (D * (2D + 1)) <<< lg w
	A = ((A ^ t) <<< u) + S[2i]
	C = ((C ^ u) <<< t) + S[2i + 1] 
	(A, B, C, D)  =  (B, C, D, A)
}
A = A + S[2r + 2]
C = C + S[2r + 3]

// '''Decryption Procedure:'''

C = C - S[2r + 3]
A = A - S[2r + 2]
for i = r downto 1 do
{
	(A, B, C, D) = (D, A, B, C)
	u = (D * (2D + 1)) <<< lg w
	t = (B * (2B + 1)) <<< lg w
	C = ((C - S[2i + 1]) >>> t) ^ u
	A = ((A - S[2i]) >>> u) ^ t
}
D = D - S[1]
B = B - S[0]

::

Possible use in NSA "implants"

In August 2016, code reputed to be Equation Group or NSA "implants" for various network security devices was disclosed. The accompanying instructions revealed that some of these programs use RC6 for confidentiality of network communications.{{cite web | url=https://github.com/nneonneo/eqgrp-free-file/blob/master/Firewall/BLATSTING/BLATSTING_20322/opinstructions/install.txt | title=These instructions guide the INSTALLATION of BLATSTING using ELIGIBLEBACHELOR via NOPEN tunnel. | website=GitHub | access-date=2016-08-16}}

Licensing

As RC6 was not selected for the AES, it was not guaranteed that RC6 is royalty-free. , a web page on the official web site of the designers of RC6, RSA Laboratories, states the following:{{cite web | url=https://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-labs/standards-initiatives/rc5-and-rc6.htm | title=3.6.4 What are RC5 and RC6? | publisher=RSA Laboratories | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706114310/https://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-labs/standards-initiatives/rc5-and-rc6.htm | archive-date=2017-07-06 | access-date=2015-08-02}}

:"We emphasize that if RC6 is selected for the AES, RSA Security will not require any licensing or royalty payments for products using the algorithm".

The emphasis on the word "if" suggests that RSA Security Inc. may have required licensing and royalty payments for any products using the RC6 algorithm. RC6 was a patented encryption algorithm ( and ); however, the patents expired between 2015 and 2017.

References

Bibliography

  • {{cite web | url=http://people.csail.mit.edu/rivest/pubs/RRSY98.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223080309/http://people.csail.mit.edu/rivest/rc6.pdf | archive-date=2018-12-23 | title=The RC6 Block Cipher | first1=R.L. | last1=Pavan | first2=M.J.B. | last2=Robshaw | first3=R. | last3=Sidney | first4=Y.L. | last4=Yin. | date=1998-08-20 | version=v1.1 | access-date=2015-08-02}}

  • {{cite web | url=http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/jean-luc.beuchat/Publications/fpl2003.pdf | title=FPGA Implementations of the RC6 Block Cipher | first=Jean-Luc | last=Beuchat | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505225326/http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/jean-luc.beuchat/Publications/fpl2003.pdf | archive-date=2006-05-05 | url-status=dead}}

  • {{cite web | url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/31/nsa_weapons_catalogue_promises_pwnage_at_the_speed_of_light/ | title=How the NSA hacks PCs, phones, routers, hard disks 'at speed of light': Spy tech catalog leaks | first=Iain | last=Thompson | date=2013-12-31 | website=The Register | access-date=2015-08-02}}

References

  1. (2010). "On Generalized Feistel Networks". Springer.
  2. "Rivest FAQ at csail.mit.edu".
  3. (August 16, 2016). "Confirmed: hacking tool leak came from "omnipotent" NSA-tied group". Ars Technica.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

block-ciphers