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Schneier's Applied Cryptography is a popular and widely-regarded reference work for cryptography. Schneier has designed or codesigned several cryptographic algorithms, including the BlowfishIn cryptography, Blowfish is a symmetric key, secret key, block cipher designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier and is included in a large number of cipher-suites and encryption products. Schneier intended it as a general-purpose algorithm to replace the aging, TwofishIn cryptography, Twofish is a symmetric key block cipher with a block size of 128 bits and key sizes up to 256 bits. It was one of the five finalists of the AES contest, but was not selected for standardisation. Twofish is related to the earlier block cip and MacGuffinIn cryptography, MacGuffin is a block cipher created in 1994 by Bruce Schneier and Matt Blaze at a Fast Software Encryption workshop. It was intended as a catalyst for analysis of a new cipher structure, known as Generalized Unbalanced Feistel Networks (G block cipherIn cryptography, a block cipher is a type of symmetric key cipher which operates on groups of bits of a fixed length, termed blocks''. This is in contrast to stream ciphers which encrypt each bit of the plaintext individually before moving on to the next.s, and the YarrowThe Yarrow algorithm is a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator. The name is taken from the yarrow plant, the stalks of which are dried and used as a randomising agent in I Ching divination. It was designed by Bruce Schneier, John Kelsey and FortunaIn Roman mythology, Fortuna was the personification of luck, hopefully of good luck. Fortuna is the name of a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator design by Niels Ferguson and Bruce Schneier. They claim it to be an improvement over thei cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generatorA cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator CSPRNG is a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) with properties that make it suitable for use in cryptography. Many aspects of cryptography require random numbers, for example: Key generation Nons.

Schneier writes a freely available monthly Internet newsletter on computer and other security issues, Crypto-Gram. He is frequently quoted in the press on computer and other security issues, pointing out flaws in security and cryptographic implementations ranging from biometrics to the post- September 11 airline security measures.