NIST has released a status report on the second round of its lightweight cryptography standardization process, which aims to select one or more authenticated encryption and hashing schemes suitable for constrained environments. The evaluation process began in February 2019 with 57 candidate algorithms, with 56 accepted as first-round candidates and 32 advancing to the second round in September 2019. The second round concluded in March 2021 with the announcement of ten finalists.
The report details the evaluation criteria and selection process used during the second round, focusing on security, performance, and implementation. The ten finalists were assessed based on their ability to meet the required security and performance standards. The report provides valuable insights into the NIST Lightweight Cryptography Standardization Process and the development of standardized cryptographic algorithms for constrained environments.
Keywords: standards, algorithm, cryptography, authentication, evaluation
