The Core3DES macro implements the Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES or Triple DES), which provides a means of securing data. The Triple DES algorithm is described in the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication (PUB) 46-3, and is an extension of the DES (Data Encryption Standard) algorithm and also described in FIPS PUB 46-3. The Triple DES algorithm takes as inputs 64 bits of plaintext data and 192 bits of a cipher key, and after 48 cycles, produces a 64-bit ciphered version of the original plaintext data as output.1 The entire 168-bit cipher key consists of three sub-keys, denoted as K1, K2, and K3, representing the left third (MSB), the middle third, and the right third (LSB) of the cipher key, respectively.