Security News > 2023 > February > NIST Standardizes Ascon Cryptographic Algorithm for IoT and Other Lightweight Devices

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has announced that a family of authenticated encryption and hashing algorithms known as Ascon will be standardized for lightweight cryptography applications.

"The chosen algorithms are designed to protect information created and transmitted by the Internet of Things, including its myriad tiny sensors and actuators," NIST said.

Put differently, the idea is to adopt security protections via lightweight cryptography in devices that have a "Limited amount of electronic resources."

Ascon is credited to a team of cryptographers from the Graz University of Technology, Infineon Technologies, Lamarr Security Research, and Radboud University.

Ascon is also engineered to provide authenticated encryption with associated data, which makes it possible to bind ciphertext to additional information, such as a device's IP address, to authenticate the ciphertext and prove its integrity.

"The algorithm ensures that all of the protected data is authentic and has not changed in transit," NIST said.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2023/02/nist-standardizes-ascon-cryptographic.html