1. An apparatus implementing an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) S-box encryption process on a 128-bit block including 16 byte values, the apparatus comprising: a first field conversion circuit to convert each of the 16 byte values, respectively, from a first corresponding polynomial representation in GF(256) to a second corresponding polynomial representation in GF((2 2 ) 4 ); a multiplicative inverse circuit to compute for each of the second corresponding polynomial representations in GF((2 2 ) 4 ) of the 16 byte values, respectively, a corresponding multiplicative inverse polynomial representation in GF((2 2 ) 4 ); and a second field conversion circuit to convert each corresponding multiplicative inverse polynomial representation in GF((2 2 ) 4 ) and to apply an affine transformation to generate, respectively, a third corresponding polynomial representation in GF(256).