SM4 (cipher)

SM4
General
DesignersData Assurance & Communication Security Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences
First published2006 (declassified; standardized March 21, 2012)
Cipher detail
Key sizes128 bits
Block sizes128 bits
Structureunbalanced Feistel network
Rounds32
Best public cryptanalysis
Linear and differential attacks against 22 rounds

ShāngMì 4 (SM4, 商密4) (formerly SMS4) is a block cipher, standardised for commercial cryptography in China. It is used in the Chinese National Standard for Wireless LAN WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure), and with Transport Layer Security.

SM4 was a cipher proposed for the IEEE 802.11i standard, but it has so far been rejected. One of the reasons for the rejection has been opposition to the WAPI fast-track proposal by the IEEE.

SM4 was published as ISO/IEC 18033-3/Amd 1 in 2021.

The SM4 algorithm was drafted by Data Assurance & Communication Security Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Commercial Cryptography Testing Center, National Cryptography Administration. It is mainly developed by Lü Shuwang (Chinese: 吕述望). The algorithm was declassified in January, 2006, and it became a national standard (GB/T 32907-2016) in August 2016.