RC2 is a symmetric-key block cipher designed by Ron Rivest in 1987.
RC2 is a symmetric-key block cipher invented by Ron Rivest in 1987 (“RC” stands for “Rivest Cipher”).
The development of RC2 was sponsored by Lotus, who were seeking a custom cipher that – after evaluation by the NSA – could be exported as part of their “Lotus Notes” software product. After Rivest incorporated some changes which were suggested by the NSA, the cipher was approved for export in 1989 and – along with RC4 – RC2 with a 40-bit key size was treated favourably under US export regulations for cryptography.
