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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43656-43657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18433]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Announcing Request for Nominations for Lightweight Cryptographic 
Algorithms

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice solicits nominations from any interested party for 
candidate algorithms to be considered for lightweight cryptographic 
standards. The submission requirements and the minimum acceptability 
requirements of a ``complete and proper'' candidate algorithm 
submission, as well as the evaluation criteria that will be used to 
appraise the candidate algorithms, can be found on the NIST Computer 
Security Resource Center website at: https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography.

DATES: Proposals must be received on or before February 25, 2019. 
Further details are available at https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography.

ADDRESSES: Algorithm submission packages should be sent to Dr. Kerry

[[Page 43657]]

McKay, Information Technology Laboratory, Attention: Lightweight 
Cryptographic Algorithm Submissions, 100 Bureau Drive--Stop 8930, 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-
8930. Submissions may also be sent by email to: [email protected]. Note that for email submissions, some of the 
supporting documentation requires a signature and must be physically 
mailed to the above address. See https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography for complete submission instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, send email to 
[email protected]. For questions related to a specific 
submission package, contact Dr. Kerry McKay, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8930, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930, email: [email protected], or by 
telephone: (301) 975-4969.
    A public email list has been set up for announcements, as well as a 
forum to discuss the standardization effort being initiated by NIST. 
For directions on how to subscribe, please visit https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The deployment of small computing devices, 
such as RFID tags, industrial controllers, sensor nodes and smart 
cards, is becoming increasingly common. The shift in focus from desktop 
computers to small devices brings a wide range of new security and 
privacy concerns. In many conventional cryptographic standards, the 
tradeoff between security, performance and resource requirements was 
optimized for desktop and server environments, and this makes the 
standards difficult or impossible to implement in resource-constrained 
devices. Therefore, when current NIST-approved algorithms can be 
engineered to fit within the limited resources of constrained 
environments, their performance may not be acceptable.
    In recent years, there has been increased demand for cryptographic 
standards that are tailored for constrained devices. NIST has decided 
to create a portfolio of lightweight cryptographic algorithms, designed 
for limited use in applications and environments where cryptographic 
operations are performed by constrained devices that are unable to use 
existing NIST standards.
    Previously, NIST solicited public comment on draft minimum 
acceptability requirements, submission requirements, and evaluation 
criteria for candidate algorithms (83 FR 22251, May 14, 2018). The 
comments received are posted at https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography, along with a summary of the changes made as a 
result of these comments.
    The purpose of this notice is to announce that nominations for 
lightweight candidate algorithms may now be submitted, up until the 
final deadline of February 25, 2019. Complete instructions on how to 
submit a candidate package, including the minimal acceptability 
requirements, are posted at https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Lightweight-Cryptography.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 278g-3.

Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2018-18433 Filed 8-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
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