Block ciphers encrypt data in blocks, typically 64 or 128 bits, using cryptographic keys and algorithms. The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a symmetric-key algorithm that encrypts data in 64-bit blocks using a 56-bit key. DES encryption uses a Feistel cipher structure involving multiple rounds of substitutions, permutations, and XOR operations to encrypt plaintext into ciphertext. The security of the algorithm increases with a larger block and key size, more complex round functions, and a greater number of rounds.