Which of the following best describes a characteristic of Triple DES?

Triple DES (3DES) is an encryption algorithm that enhances the security of the original Data Encryption Standard (DES) by applying the DES algorithm three times to each data block. One of its key characteristics is that it employs multiple keys, specifically either two or three different keys during the encryption process. This increases the effective key length and enhances security against brute-force attacks compared to standard DES.

While it is true that 3DES offers improved security, it is generally considered less efficient than newer encryption standards like Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The multiple rounds of encryption also introduce additional computational overhead, making 3DES slower in comparison to AES, which is designed to be faster and more efficient while also providing strong encryption. This characteristic of using multiple keys and being less efficient than more modern methods is crucial in understanding the performance trade-offs when choosing encryption standards.