"NIST Selects ‘Lightweight Cryptography’ Algorithms to Protect Small Devices"

Security experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have recently announced a victor in their program to find a worthy defender of data generated by small devices.  The winner, a group of cryptographic algorithms called Ascon, will be published as NIST's lightweight cryptography standard later in 2023.  NIST noted that the chosen algorithms are designed to protect information created and transmitted by the Internet of Things (IoT), including its myriad of tiny sensors and actuators.  They are also designed for other miniature technologies, such as implanted medical devices, stress detectors inside roads and bridges, and keyless entry fobs for vehicles.  NIST stated that devices like these need "lightweight cryptography," protection that uses the limited amount of electronic resources they possess.  According to NIST computer scientist Kerry McKay, the newly selected algorithms should be appropriate for most forms of tiny tech.  To determine the strongest and most efficient lightweight algorithms, NIST held a development program that took several years, first communicating with industry and other organizations to understand their needs and then requesting potential solutions from the world's cryptography community in 2018.  After receiving 57 submissions, McKay and mathematician Meltem Sönmez Turan managed a multi-round public review process in which cryptographers examined and attempted to find weaknesses in the candidates, eventually whittling them down to 10 finalists before selecting the winner.  NIST noted that Ascon was developed in 2014 by a team of cryptographers from Graz University of Technology, Infineon Technologies, Lamarr Security Research, and Radboud University.  Mckay stated that it was selected in 2019 as the primary choice for lightweight authenticated encryption in the final portfolio of the CAESAR competition, a sign that Ascon had withstood years of examination by cryptographers, which is a characteristic the NIST team also valued.  There are currently seven members of the Ascon family, some or all of which may become part of NIST's published lightweight cryptography standard.
 

NIST reports: "NIST Selects ‘Lightweight Cryptography’ Algorithms to Protect Small Devices"