What is a potential risk when using 3DES despite its secure history?

The selection of high resource consumption as the potential risk when using 3DES is accurate because this encryption algorithm is known for being computationally intensive compared to more modern algorithms. 3DES (Triple Data Encryption Standard) applies the DES algorithm three times to each data block, which significantly increases the processing time and computational workload. This high resource requirement can lead to slower system performance, particularly in environments where large amounts of data are being processed or where many simultaneous encryptions are taking place.

While other options may have relevance in different contexts, they do not specifically highlight the inherent drawback of 3DES as clearly as the high resource consumption. For instance, lack of encryption does not apply since 3DES is indeed an encryption method, while increased attack surface generally refers to vulnerability exposure due to system complexity, and data exposure implies a failure in data security, which isn’t directly tied to the algorithm itself. Thus, acknowledging high resource consumption as a potential risk focuses on a critical and practical limitation of using 3DES in today’s fast-paced and resource-sensitive computing environments.