NIST chooses ‘Lightweight Cryptography’ algorithms to protect small devices

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has chosen algorithms to protect information created and transmitted by IoT devices. The algorithms chosen by NIST are intended to secure data generated and sent through the internet of things and its many tiny components, such as implanted medical devices, sensors and actuators, stress detectors in roads and bridges, and keyless entry fobs. As such, they require ‘lightweight cryptography’ to function with their minimal electronic resources, which the newly selected algorithms are expected to provide.