Encryption protocols can be hacked, but not always in the way people imagine. The strongest encryption algorithms, like Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with long key lengths, would take millions of years to brute-force with today’s computers. In practice, “hacking” usually means exploiting weaknesses in how a protocol is implemented, rather than breaking the math itself. For example, protocol-level attacks (like padding-oracle attacks) target the way encryption is applied, not the raw cipher. Even modern standards can have vulnerabilities if they’re used incorrectly.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is an encryption protocol developed from the security enhancements made to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). This data-transport-based encryption is now widely used in most web browsers and on e-commerce sites to protect user data in transit on the web.

You can choose the right encryption protocol by considering why you need the protocol (secure communications, file transfer, etc.), the sensitivity of the data you need to secure (regular messages vs. top secret documents), and how known vulnerabilities (if any) in the encryption protocol may affect you.