JCE stands for
Java Cryptography Extension. It is, obviously, an
extension released by
sun that allows for the easy implementation of
symmetric,
asymmetric,
block, and
stream ciphers, as well as key generation, agreement, and the like. It is a fairly good and clean framework, however the out-of-the-box
provider is kind of
mediocre.
Until quite recently, the JCE was not exportable due to
cryptography restrictions, however Sun managed to get through the US government's laborious review process, and now people from other nations can download the JCE 1.2.1 beta.