NIST First Call for Multi-Party Threshold Schemes | IR 8214C 2pd Available for Public Comments

NIST requests public comments on NIST IR 8214C 2pd (second public draft), NIST First Call for Multi-Party Threshold Schemes, which will help the NIST Multi-Party Threshold Cryptography and Privacy-Enhancing Cryptography projects collect reference materials on advanced cryptography. 

In a threshold scheme, an underlying cryptographic primitive (e.g., signature, encryption, decryption, key generation) is executed in a distributed manner, while its private/secret key is or becomes secret shared across various parties. The call is organized into two classes (regarding the primitive of interest): 

• Class N, for primitives related to NIST-standardized signatures, public-key encryption, symmetric-key cryptography and hashing, and key generation; 
• Class S, for special primitives that are not standardized by NIST but are threshold-friendlier or have useful features. The scope also includes fully-homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, and auxiliary gadgets. 

This “Threshold Call” specifies the requirements for submission (including specification, implementation, and evaluation), along with the phases of the ensuing process. The public analysis of submitted materials will support the elaboration of a characterization report, which may help assess new interests beyond the cryptographic techniques currently standardized by NIST and may include recommendations for subsequent processes. 

The public comment period is open through April 30, 2025. See the publication details for a copy of this draft. Public comments should be submitted by email to nistir-8214C-comments [at] nist.gov (nistir-8214C-comments[at]nist[dot]gov). Comments will be compiled and made publicly available.

NOTE: A call for patent claims is included in the front matter of this draft. For additional information, see the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Patent Policy – Inclusion of Patents in ITL Publications.