Horst Feistel

Horst Feistel

Horst Feistel (January 30, 1915 – November 14, 1990) was a German-American cryptographer. He helped create secret codes called ciphers to keep information safe.

Feistel worked at IBM. His research there led to the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, in the 1970s. This standard helped protect data around the world.

One of his important ideas was the Feistel network. This design is still used today in many modern block ciphers to keep information secure.

Life and work

Horst Feistel was born in Berlin, Germany in 1915. He moved to the United States in 1934. During World War II, he worked on special projects for the US government. He later joined IBM, where he helped improve computer security.

Feistel’s work led to strong ways to keep information private, such as the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Many security tools today still use his ideas. He studied physics and had a daughter named Peggy.