Encrypt and decrypt data using AES in C
suggest changeusing System; using System.IO; using System.Security.Cryptography; namespace Aes_Example { class AesExample { public static void Main() { try { string original = "Here is some data to encrypt!"; // Create a new instance of the Aes class. // This generates a new key and initialization vector (IV). using (Aes myAes = Aes.Create()) { // Encrypt the string to an array of bytes. byte[] encrypted = EncryptStringToBytes_Aes(original, myAes.Key, myAes.IV); // Decrypt the bytes to a string. string roundtrip = DecryptStringFromBytes_Aes(encrypted, myAes.Key, myAes.IV); //Display the original data and the decrypted data. Console.WriteLine("Original: {0}", original); Console.WriteLine("Round Trip: {0}", roundtrip); } } catch (Exception e) { Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.Message); } } static byte[] EncryptStringToBytes_Aes(string plainText, byte[] Key, byte[] IV) { // Check arguments. if (plainText == null || plainText.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("plainText"); if (Key == null || Key.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("Key"); if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("IV"); byte[] encrypted; // Create an Aes object with the specified key and IV. using (Aes aesAlg = Aes.Create()) { aesAlg.Key = Key; aesAlg.IV = IV; // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform. ICryptoTransform encryptor = aesAlg.CreateEncryptor(aesAlg.Key, aesAlg.IV); // Create the streams used for encryption. using (MemoryStream msEncrypt = new MemoryStream()) { using (CryptoStream csEncrypt = new CryptoStream(msEncrypt, encryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Write)) { using (StreamWriter swEncrypt = new StreamWriter(csEncrypt)) { //Write all data to the stream. swEncrypt.Write(plainText); } encrypted = msEncrypt.ToArray(); } } } // Return the encrypted bytes from the memory stream. return encrypted; } static string DecryptStringFromBytes_Aes(byte[] cipherText, byte[] Key, byte[] IV) { // Check arguments. if (cipherText == null || cipherText.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("cipherText"); if (Key == null || Key.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("Key"); if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0) throw new ArgumentNullException("IV"); // Declare the string used to hold the decrypted text. string plaintext = null; // Create an Aes object with the specified key and IV. using (Aes aesAlg = Aes.Create()) { aesAlg.Key = Key; aesAlg.IV = IV; // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform. ICryptoTransform decryptor = aesAlg.CreateDecryptor(aesAlg.Key, aesAlg.IV); // Create the streams used for decryption. using (MemoryStream msDecrypt = new MemoryStream(cipherText)) { using (CryptoStream csDecrypt = new CryptoStream(msDecrypt, decryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Read)) { using (StreamReader srDecrypt = new StreamReader(csDecrypt)) { // Read the decrypted bytes from the decrypting stream // and place them in a string. plaintext = srDecrypt.ReadToEnd(); } } } } return plaintext; } } }
This example is from MSDN.
It is a console demo application, showing how to encrypt a string by using the standard AES encryption, and how to decrypt it afterwards.
(AES = Advanced Encryption Standard, a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001 which is still the de-facto standard for symmetric encryption)
Notes:
- In a real encryption scenario, you need to choose a proper cipher mode (can be assigned to the
Mode
property by selecting a value from theCipherMode
enumeration). Never use theCipherMode.ECB
(electronic codebook mode), since this procuces a weak cypher stream - To create a good (and not a weak)
Key
, either use a cryptographic random generator or use the example above (Create a Key from a Password). The recommended KeySize is 256 bit. Supported key sizes are available via theLegalKeySizes
property. - To initialize the initialization vector
IV
, you can use a SALT as shown in the example above (Random SALT) - Supported block sizes are available via the
SupportedBlockSizes
property, the block size can be assigned via theBlockSize
property
Usage: see Main() method.
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