The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was designed by __________. Options :

The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was designed by IBM. In the early 1970s, IBM developed a cipher called Lucifer based on their research into symmetric-key cryptography. This design was submitted to the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) for consideration as a federal encryption standard. After modifications and review by the National Security Agency (NSA), IBM's Lucifer algorithm was adopted and renamed DES in 1976. It became the first publicly accessible encryption standard widely used for securing sensitive data.\nMicrosoft, Google, and Intel were not involved in the original design of DES. Microsoft was founded later (1975) and focused on operating systems, while Google (founded 1998) and Intel (focused on hardware chips) did not exist or were not active in cryptography standards development at that time. Therefore, the correct choice is Option A (IBM).