---
title: "Discussion on \"Why AES does its byte math in GF(2⁸), with a step-through multiplier\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"Why AES does its byte math in GF(2⁸), with a step-through multiplier\". Why AES can't use integers mod 256, how GF(2⁸) treats bytes as polynomials, and an interactive multiplier that shows each shift and XOR with 0x11B"
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/why-aes-does-its-byte-math-in-gf-2-with-a-step-through-multiplier/6af6fc872d7540c675abd8fe"
---

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# [Why AES does its byte math in GF(2⁸), with a step-through multiplier](https://eduparthsinha.hashnode.dev/why-aes-does-its-byte-math-in-gf-2-with-a-step-through-multiplier?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)

Why AES can't use integers mod 256, how GF(2⁸) treats bytes as polynomials, and an interactive multiplier that shows each shift and XOR with 0x11B

1h ago · 3 min read · eduparthsinha.hashnode.dev  
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-   [#cryptography](https://hashnode.com/tag/cryptography)
-   [#aes](https://hashnode.com/tag/aes)
-   [#mathematics](https://hashnode.com/tag/mathematics)
-   [#security](https://hashnode.com/tag/security)
-   [#algorithms](https://hashnode.com/tag/algorithms)

## Written by

[Parth Sinha](https://hashnode.com/@neo-dev)

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