NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization
NIST's multi-round public process to standardize quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms; Post-Quantum's NTS-KEM submission reached Round 3 finalist status before merging with Daniel Bernstein's Classic McEliece submission.
NIST launched an open, multi-year public competition in 2016 to select and standardize cryptographic algorithms resistant to attacks from quantum computers, which threaten to break widely used public-key cryptography; the effort concluded its primary phase in August 2024 with the publication of three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 203, 204, 205), with additional backup candidates still under evaluation.
Program detail
- Agency
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- Acronym
- PQC
- Budget
- Phase
- Concluded (Phase 1) -- FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), 204 (ML-DSA), 205 (SLH-DSA) published Aug 2024. Post-Quantum's Classic McEliece (merged from NTS-KEM, Feb 2020) advanced to NIST's 4th round as an alternate KEM but was not selected -- NIST chose HQC as the additional KEM standard in March 2025. Classic McEliece remains under evaluation, not yet standardized.
- Domain
- Cryptography standardization
Contracts0
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Frequently asked
- What is NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization?
- NIST launched an open, multi-year public competition in 2016 to select and standardize cryptographic algorithms resistant to attacks from quantum computers, which threaten to break widely used public-key cryptography; the effort concluded its primary phase in August 2024 with the publication of three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 203, 204, 205), with additional backup candidates still under evaluation.
- Which agency runs NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization?
- NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization is run by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and is also known as PQC.
Sources & citations2
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Post-Quantum's algorithm (NTS-KEM) is a finalist in NIST's post-quantum cryptography standardization competition
Pressat: Post-Quantum's algorithm is finalist in NIST's Post-Quantum Cryptography competitionVerified2026-08-02 - 2
NIST published FIPS 203, 204, and 205 in August 2024, concluding the primary phase of its post-quantum cryptography standardization process.
NIST: Post-Quantum Cryptography FIPS ApprovedVerified2024-08-13