NIST Launches Search for Lightweight Cryptographic Champions

The search for Lightweight Cryptographic Champions is on now that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a call for submissions of previously published and analyzed algorithms that will help set standards to better secure the entire market of the Internet of Things (IoT). Protecting the tiny networks within IoT devices demands a new class of lightweight cryptography, which is why NIST has kicked off its effort to find lightweight solutions to this heavyweight challenge of IoT security. One of the challenges in defending IoT devices is that most cryptographic systems were designed for desktops and servers, not the now-often-used smaller devices that have more limited computational resources. These devices, though, are everywhere, from critical infrastructure to medical devices to cars and common household electronics. In large part, they are vulnerable to cyberattacks because the are so difficult to secure.