NIST Releases First Post-Quantum Encryption Algorithms
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Bruce Schneier ☛ NIST Releases First Post-Quantum Encryption Algorithms - Schneier on Security
These algorithms are part of three NIST standards that have been finalized:
• FIPS 203: Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard
• FIPS 204: Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard
• FIPS 205: Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Standard -
US Government Publishing Office ☛ Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 14, 2024 / Notices [PDF]
National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket No. 240719–0201]
RIN 0693–XC131Announcing Issuance of Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) FIPS 203, Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard, FIPS 204, Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard, and FIPS 205, Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Standard
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US NIST ☛ NIST Releases First 3 Finalized Post-Quantum Encryption Standards
NIST is encouraging computer system administrators to begin transitioning to the new standards as soon as possible.
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[Old] Bruce Schneier ☛ Essays: Lattice-Based Cryptosystems and Quantum Cryptanalysis
Quantum computers are probably coming, though we don’t know when—and when they arrive, they will, most likely, be able to break our standard public-key cryptography algorithms. In anticipation of this possibility, cryptographers have been working on quantum-resistant public-key algorithms. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has been hosting a competition since 2017, and there already are several proposed standards. Most of these are based on lattice problems.
The mathematics of lattice cryptography revolve around combining sets of vectors—that’s the lattice—in a multi-dimensional space. These lattices are filled with multi-dimensional periodicities. The hard problem that’s used in cryptography is to find the shortest periodicity in a large, random-looking lattice. This can be turned into a public-key cryptosystem in a variety of different ways. Research has been ongoing since 1996, and there has been some really great work since then—including many practical public-key algorithms.
LWN outside paywall now:
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NIST finalizes post-quantum encryption standards
On August 13, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the final form of its new post-quantum cryptographic standards. One key-exchange mechanism and two digital-signature schemes are now officially sanctioned by the institute. Adopting the new standards should be fairly painless for most developers, but the overhead added by the schemes could pose challenges for some applications.