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DES
Developed by IBM in response to a RFP by NIST for “unclassified, but sensitive data”
Extensively researched and analyzed by one of the best crypto groups in the world outside of the NSA/KGB
Substantial unexplained modifications were made by the NSA
Notes:
While many claim the NSA put a trapdoor in the S-Box modifications, an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee claimed there was no evidence of inappropriate activity by the NSA. In fact, some have speculated that they changed the S-boxes to make sure the IBM researchers hadn’t placed trapdoors in them. Since the DES would be used to protect trillions of dollars over the years, this is not so outrageous an idea.