Versatile AES256 is a balanced and a versatile Intellectual Property (IP) core implementing the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with a 256-bit key in five dynamically selectable modes of operation: Electronic Codebook (ECB), Cipher Block Chaining (CBC), Cipher Feedback (CFB), Output Feedback (OFB), and Counter (CTR). The four different modes of operation (CBC, CFB, OFB, and CTR) all protect data confidentiality, and are widely used in numerous security designs and cryptographic protocols. It also supports the ECB mode of operation as a building block for other AES modes of operation, but importantly the standalone use of ECB is not recommended for cryptographically secure applications. The design allows every individual 128-bit data block (din —plaintext in encryption mode, ciphertext in decryption mode) to use a different key, a different Initialization Vector (IV) , and a different mode of operation.