NIST Releases Post Quantum Cryptography Standards
Security Boulevard, Wednesday, August 14th, 2024
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its first three post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, a world-first designed to meet the threat of powerful quantum computers as well as the increasing encryption vulnerability to AI-based attacks.
NIST's new encryption standards target two critical tasks: General encryption and digital signatures. In 2022, NIST selected four algorithms-CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, Sphincs+, and FALCON-for standardization, with draft versions of three released in 2023.
The final standards include FIPS 203, based on the renamed ML-KEM (formerly CRYSTALS-Kyber), designed for general encryption with advantages like small, easily exchanged keys and fast operation.