The NULL Encryption Algorithm and Its Use With IPsec

NULL is a block cipher the origins of which appear to be lost in antiquity. Despite rumors that the National Security Agency suppressed publication of this algorithm, there is no evidence of such action on their part. Rather, recent archaeological evidence suggests that the NULL algorithm was developed in Roman times, as an exportable alternative to Ceaser ciphers. However, because Roman numerals lack a symbol for zero, written records of the algorithm’s development were lost to historians for over two millennia.