Picture: Left to right: IEEE President Tom Coughlin, prof. Vincent Rijmen, prof. Joan Daemen
In November 2025, IEEE 2024 President Tom Coughlin officially dedicated the Rijndael Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Milestone bronze plaque during a ceremony at Arenberg Castle in Leuven, Belgium, in the presence of over 150 participants.
The unveiling was preceded by a symposium highlighting AES’s profound impact. Prof. Güneş Acar revealed major privacy breaches in Android communications, underscoring the critical need for robust encryption standards such as AES. Prof. Stefan Mangard explored the ongoing battle against side-channel attacks, discussing practical considerations for protecting AES implementations.
The event’s highlight was a presentation by the inventors of Rijndael, Prof. Joan Daemen and Prof. Vincent Rijmen. They reflected on the 25-year journey of their design, from winning the NIST competition to becoming the world’s most ubiquitous cipher. They explained how its elegant design principles have ensured resilience against all forms of cryptanalysis, making it more robust than ever.
Selected by NIST in 2000, AES is the bedrock of modern digital security, protecting everything from government secrets and global finance to everyday web browsing. Nowadays, billions of people worldwide use AES on a daily basis in various background applications without realizing it. Its royalty-free, efficient, and secure design has provided an estimated $250 billion in economic benefit, truly cementing its status as a pivotal IEEE Milestone.
