Status Report on the First Round of the Additional Digital Signature Schemes for the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process

Published

October 24, 2024

Author(s)

Gorjan Alagic, Maxime Bros, Pierre Ciadoux, David Cooper, Quynh Dang, Thinh Dang, John M. Kelsey, Jacob Lichtinger, Carl A. Miller, Dustin Moody, Rene Peralta, Ray Perlner, Angela Robinson, Hamilton Silberg, Daniel Smith-Tone, Noah Waller, Yi-Kai Liu

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is in the process of evaluating public-key digital signature algorithms through a public competition-like process for potential standardization. Any signature scheme eventually selected would augment Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 204, Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard, FIPS 205, Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Standard, as well as FIPS 186-5, Digital Signature Standard (DSS), and Special Publication (SP) 800-208, Recommendation for Stateful Hash-Based Signature Schemes. It is intended that these signature algorithms being evaluated will be capable of protecting sensitive information well into the foreseeable future, including after the advent of quantum computers. In June 2023, 50 candidate algorithms were submitted to NIST for consideration. Among these, 40 met both the minimum acceptance criteria and our submission requirements, and were accepted as First-Round Candidates on July 17, 2023, marking the beginning of the First Round of the Additional Digital Signatures for the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Standardization Process. This report describes the evaluation criteria and selection process, based on public feedback and internal review of the first-round candidates, and summarizes the 14 candidate algorithms announced in \monthyear} for moving forward to the second round of evaluation. The 14 Second-Round Candidates for digital signatures are CROSS, FAEST, HAWK, LESS, MAYO, Mirath (merger of MIRA/MiRitH), MQOM, PERK, QR-UOV, RYDE, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 8528

Report Number

8528

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8528

Local Download

Keywords

cryptography, digital signatures, post-quantum cryptography, quantum resistant, quantum safe

Citation

Alagic, G. , Bros, M. , Ciadoux, P. , Cooper, D. , Dang, Q. , Dang, T. , Kelsey, J. , Lichtinger, J. , Miller, C. , Moody, D. , Peralta, R. , Perlner, R. , Robinson, A. , Silberg, H. , Smith-Tone, D. , Waller, N. and Liu, Y. (2024), Status Report on the First Round of the Additional Digital Signature Schemes for the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8528, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=958723 (Accessed October 31, 2024)