What Post-Quantum DSA (FIPS 204) requires
Compliance with Federal Information Processing Standard 204 mandates a strict implementation of the Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA). Systems must exclusively employ one of the three standardized parameter sets-ML-DSA-44, ML-DSA-65, or ML-DSA-87-and satisfy a minimum security strength where the selected set corresponds to NIST security category 3 or 5, reflecting a policy threshold where the value must be greater than or equal to 3. The foundational cryptographic operations are equally prescribed: the internal hash function must be SHAKE-256 per FIPS 202, and randomness for key generation or randomized signing must originate from a DRBG compliant with NIST SP 800-90A. For utilization in U.S. Federal contexts, the entire cryptographic implementation needs to be encapsulated within a FIPS 140-3 validated module. Verification requires that the implementation correctly process all relevant Known Answer Test vectors from the NIST CAVP for its claimed parameter set. Furthermore, component sizes are non-negotiable; the public key, private key, and signature dimensions must exactly match byte specifications detailed in FIPS 204, such as the 4000-byte private key for ML-DSA-65. Finally, operational security dictates that generated ML-DSA keys are single-purpose and must be disallowed for any other cryptographic function.
Pillar: Cybersecurity · Authority: NIST (FIPS) · Version: 1.1.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography
SHA-256 integrity: f26291077e4fd77c7337bdb09e8200344774dba29308bc0af51c3fb29fe7a427
Primary Citations — 6 traced to source
- {"citation_id":"FIPS-204","title":"FIPS PUB 204: Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard (ML-DSA)","issuer":"National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/204/final"}
- {"citation_id":"FIPS-140-3","title":"FIPS PUB 140-3: Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules","issuer":"National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/140-3/final"}
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