New Whitepaper: “The new NIST standards are here: what does it mean for PQC in 2024?”

Abstract

NEW PQC NIST STANDARDS PUBLISHED: This week, NIST, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, published their finalized post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205 – the culmination of an eight-year cycle of submission, research, and analysis.

This long-awaited announcement marks a significant milestone in the history of PQC. It’s set to impact the cryptography deployed in every industry, affecting everything from machines transferring data across a network, to online financial transactions, hardware infrastructure, and military devices. As a result of today’s news, chips, devices, software applications, and cryptographic components in supply chains will all now need to be PQC-compliant with the framework of standards announced.

In this paper, we take an in-depth look at the FIPS standards for post-quantum cryptography.

What are the selected algorithms, and why were they chosen? How did the world wake up to the threat of quantum computing? What’s the view of companies like PQShield, working with government and security agencies around the world? And importantly, what happens next standards, FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205 – the culmination of an eight-year cycle of submission, research, and analysis.