AES-256-GCM: Quantum-Safe Encryption Security AES-256-GCM: Why 256-Bit Encryption Survives Quantum Computers 15 min read The Padlock on Everything You Do Online Every time you visit a website with "https" in the address bar, buy something online, send a message through WhatsApp, or store a file in the cloud, your data is being scrambled by an encryption algorithm. More often than not, that algorithm is AES-256-GCM. It is the single most widely deployed encryption system on the planet. Banks use it. Governments use it. The military uses it. Your phone uses it right now, without you knowing, to protect the data on its storage chip. But what is it, exactly? The name looks like an alphabet soup of letters and numbers. Let us break it down piece by piece, because understanding what protects your data is the first step toward making good decisions about security. Breaking Down the Name: AES, 256, and GCM The name "AES-256-GCM" has three parts, and each one matters. AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard .…