The upcoming 0.9.5 release of Reticulum will add support for multiple link modes to Reticulum, as well as introduce AES-256 support for all communication types (both over links and single packets).
This release is a compatibility/migration release, that while supporting AES-256 doesn't use it by default. It will work with both the old AES-128 based modes, and the new AES-256 based modes. There's a very slight penalty in performance to support both the old and new modes at the same time, but only for single packet APIs (not links), and it really shouldn't be noticeable in any everyday use.
In the subsequent release, version 0.9.6, Reticulum will transition fully to AES-256 and use it by default for all communications. That means that both single packets and links will use, at minimum, AES-256 by default. The old AES-128 link mode may or may not be available for a few releases, but will ultimately be phased out entirely.
The update requires no intervention, configuration changes or anything similar from a users or developers perspective. Everything should simply work. This goes both for the 0.9.5 update, and the next 0.9.6 update that transitions fully to AES-256.
It's also important to note that this will in no way change identities or addresses, or anything else of that sort that could cause incompatibilities. This update also lays the groundwork for much easier addition of potential post-quantum cipher suites and other modes in the future, if and when that becomes relevant.
The update will be deployed to testnet instances a few days before release. You can expect the update to release within a week or so.
Feel free to discuss or ask in this thread if you have any questions!
