These instructions are typically found in modern processors and can greatly accelerate AES operations compared to software implementations.
When AES is implemented as an instruction set instead of as software, it can have improved security, as its side channel attack surface is reduced.
Examples include: Since the Power ISA v.2.07, the instructions vcipher and vcipherlast implement one round of AES directly.
[35][36][failed verification] [better source needed] Most modern compilers can emit AES instructions.
A lot of security and cryptography software supports the AES instruction set, including the following notable core infrastructure: A fringe use of the AES instruction set involves using it on block ciphers with a similarly-structured S-box, using affine transform to convert between the two.
The AEGIS family, which offers authenticated encryption, runs with at least twice the speed of AES.