NIST has published a status report on the first round of its lightweight cryptography standardization process. The report details the evaluation criteria and selection process for 32 candidate algorithms that will move on to the second round of the competition-like process.
In February 2019, 57 algorithms were submitted to NIST for consideration in developing standards for secure communication in constrained environments. After a thorough review, 56 of these were accepted as first-round candidates in April 2019. The evaluation criteria focused on ensuring the selected algorithms meet the required standards for performance, security, and efficiency in resource-constrained environments.
The 32 second-round candidates were selected based on a combination of public feedback and internal review of the first-round candidates. The next phase of the process will involve further analysis and testing of these selected algorithms to determine the final standards for lightweight cryptography.
Keywords: cryptography, authentication, standards, NIST, lightweight
