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The National Institute of Standards and Technology says it will publish the Ascon group of algorithms in its lightweight cryptography standard later this year.<\/p>\n
WHY IT MATTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n NIST has found “a worthy defender” of data generated by small Internet of Things-connected devices as the result of a four-year international competition, according to the announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March 2019, NIST received 57 submissions and led a multi-round review process to examine and test the crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ascon, designed by a team of cryptographers from Graz University of Technology, Infineon Technologies, Lamarr Security Research and Radboud University, was one of 10 finalists.<\/p>\n According to the Computer Security Resource Center, the needed algorithms for symmetric crypto applications require authenticated encryption with associated data.\u00a0<\/p>\n AEAD allows data collectors, like hospitals, to check the integrity of both the encrypted and unencrypted information being sent from tiny devices and sensors.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Small devices have limited resources, and they need security that has a compact implementation,” said Kerry McKay, NIST computer scientist leading the effort.<\/p>\n NIST also requested that if a competitor used hash functions to create digital fingerprints of data, the function should share resources with the AEAD to reduce implementation costs.<\/p>\n Ascon is a family of authenticated encryption and hashing algorithms designed to be lightweight and easy to implement, even with added countermeasures against side-channel attacks, says NIST.\u00a0<\/p>\n THE LARGER TREND<\/strong><\/p>\n Hospitals report\u00a0elevated security risks presented by IoT and Internet of Medical Things devices<\/a>.<\/p>\n The exposure from connected biomedical devices can also open pathways for cybercriminals to take control of hospital systems and cause patient harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n The proliferation of IoMT devices highlights the need to\u00a0reinvent data security with cryptographic technology<\/a>, according to Jamie Wilson, Cryptoloc Technology’s executive chairman and founder.\u00a0<\/p>\n “With cryptographic technology, no one else has access to the information except for the user themselves,” he previously told\u00a0Healthcare IT News<\/em>.<\/p>\n “There\u2019s also a full audit trail where everything is date and time stamped, so you\u2019ll know who has accessed the file and where they have accessed it from.”<\/p>\n ON THE RECORD<\/strong><\/p>\n “The world is moving toward using small devices for lots of tasks ranging from sensing to identification to machine control,” said McKay in the announcement.<\/p>\n “These algorithms should cover most devices that have these sorts of resource constraints.”<\/p>\n Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
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