Cipher Selection
Cipher Selection
AES-256-GCM vs ChaCha20-Poly1305 tradeoffs
Selecting the appropriate cryptographic cipher depends heavily on the deployment architecture. KSP natively supports two secure AEAD algorithms.
Technical Comparison
| Feature | AES-256-GCM | ChaCha20-Poly1305 |
|---|---|---|
| Algorithm Type | Block Cipher (Rijndael) | Stream Cipher |
| Key Size | 256 bits | 256 bits |
| Hardware Acceleration | Yes (Intel AES-NI, ARMv8 Cryptography) | Rarely (Usually Software Optimized) |
| Software Speed | Moderate / Slow (without AES-NI) | Extremely Fast (on low-end/mobile CPUs) |
Selection Recommendation
AES-256-GCM is highly recommended for backend servers and modern PCs where CPU hardware-acceleration is available, achieving gigabit speeds at low CPU overhead. For mobile applications, IoT devices, or microcontrollers lacking AES hardware instructions, select ChaCha20-Poly1305 to prevent CPU performance degradation.