National Institute of Standards and Technology May 28, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a public competition in November 2007 to develop a new cryptographic hash algorithm for standardization to augment the Government standard hash algorithms specified in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 180, Secure Hash Standard. NIST announced the selection of Keccak as the winning algorithm in a press release issued on October 2, 2012, which is available at https://www.nist.gov/ itl/csd/sha-100212.cfm. Draft FIPS 202 specifies the new ``Secure Hash Algorithm-3'' (SHA-3) family of permutation-based functions based on Keccak. Four fixed-length cryptographic hash algorithms (SHA3-224, SHA3- 256, SHA3-384, and SHA3-512) and two closely related, ``extendable- output'' functions (SHAKE128 and SHAKE256) are specified in Draft FIPS 202; all six algorithms are permutation-based ``sponge'' functions. The four SHA-3 hash functions provide alternatives to the SHA-2 family of hash functions. The extendable-output functions (XOFs) can be specialized to hash functions, subject to additional security considerations, or used in a variety of other applications. Hash algorithms are used in many information security applications, including (1) the generation and verification of digital signatures, (2) key-derivation functions, and (3) random bit generation. Both FIPS 180-4 and Draft FIPS 202 specify cryptographic hash algorithms. FIPS 180-4 specifies SHA-1 and the SHA-2 family of hash functions, and mandates the use of one of these functions for Federal applications that require a cryptographic hash function. Draft FIPS 202 specifies the new SHA-3 family of hash and extendable-output functions. To allow the use of the functions specified in either FIPS 180-4 or Draft FIPS 202 for Federal applications that require a cryptographic hash function, NIST proposes revising the Applicability Clause (6) of the Announcement Section of FIPS 180-4; the other sections of FIPS 180-4 remain unchanged. The NIST Policy on Hash Functions, available at https://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/hash/ policy.html, provides guidance on the choice of hash functions for specific applications. NIST invites public comments on Draft FIPS 202, which is available at https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsDrafts.html, and on the proposed revision of the Applicability Clause of the Announcement Section of FIPS 180-4, available at https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/ PubsFIPS.html. After the comment period closes, NIST will analyze the comments, make changes to the respective documents, as appropriate, and then propose Draft FIPS 202 and the revised FIPS 180-4 to the Secretary of Commerce for approval.

The Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Board of Overseers) and the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) will meet together in open session on Thursday, June 12, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Board of Overseers, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, reports the results of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Award) activities to the Director of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) each year, along with its recommendations for the improvement of the Award process. The Judges Panel, also appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, ensures the integrity of the Award selection process and recommends Award recipients to the Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and from the Chair of the Judges Panel. The agenda will include: Baldrige Program Update, Baldrige Fundraising Update, Baldrige Judges Panel Update, Ethics Review, Applicants and Eligibility, and New Business/Public Comment.