**Meme:** Don't roll your own.

**Originator:** Unknown. Most infamous use on IT Security is by D.W., [here][1].

**Cultural Height:** TBD

**Background:** Everyone seems to want to write their own ciphers, or create their own security mechanisms. Unfortunately, this doesn't end well. As such, the phrase "don't roll your own" has become a frequent staple of IT Security advice, as well as on other boards (e.g. Crypto SE) and across the entire information security community.

> *"Anyone can invent an encryption algorithm they themselves can't break; it's much harder to invent one that no one else can break"* - Bruce Schneier

![One does not simply write their own cipher.][2]


  [1]: http://security.stackexchange.com/a/2210/5400
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/L5ztk.jpg