The archival representation of a 64-bit value expressed in hexadecimal notation as 16 ASCII characters from the set of characters (0..9, A..F); the 64-bit value is used as a starting point for encryption of a data sequence to increase security by introducing cryptographic variance and to synchronize cryptographic equipment; a new Initialization Vector (IV) shall be used for each message; the IV shall not be intentionally reused; the 64-bit binary value, not its ASCII representation, is used for the cryptographic process; in the interchange process, the resultant encrypted and filtered 64-bit IV is sent; the hexadecimal notation is the representation for archiving purposes; the IV shall be a random or pseudo-random number; when encrypted, the IV must be decrypted using the Electronic Code Book (ECB) mode and the same key used to encrypt the message