The National Institute of Standards and Technology is inviting the public to comment on a new white paper discussing approaches and considerations to achieve crypto agility.
The Cybersecurity White Paper, or CSWP, 39 outlines anticipated challenges and trade-offs to providing operational mechanisms for achieving crypto agility while maintaining interoperability, NIST said Wednesday. The latest CSWP also highlights several working areas of the effort that require more discussions.
Replacing Outdated Algorithms
According to NIST, crypto agility embodies the required capabilities to replace outdated cryptographic algorithms and use advanced versions for protocols, applications, software, hardware and infrastructures. The concept envisions the implementation of new algorithms without interrupting the flow of an existing system to achieve resilience.
The adoption of a crypto agility approach is meant to advance the NIST mission of seamlessly migrating critical government systems to post-quantum cryptography standards, which would address the threats posed by future cryptographically-relevant quantum computers to public-key cryptography. The technology is slated to support government initiatives to replace algorithms with inadequate security features.
NIST will accept feedback on the white paper until April 30. The agency will also conduct virtual workshops to discuss with relevant stakeholders the formulation of strategies for pursuing crypto agility.
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