NIST Advances 9 Post‑Quantum Signature Algorithms to Round 3
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon... The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lat...
Published byEdited with GPT-5.5Images generated with GPT Image 2
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon...
The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lattice‑based, symmetric‑based, and isogeny‑based designs, reflecting NIST’s strategy of diversifying post‑quantum security...
Five earlier candidates—CROSS, LESS, Mirath, PERK, and RYDE—did not advance, though the provided sources do not specify NIST’s detailed reasons for eliminating them.
What did NIST announce on May 14 in the third round of its post-quantum cryptography standardization effort for digital signature algorithmsNIST continues evaluating new digital signature algorithms designed to remain secure against future quantum computers.
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Create a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: What did NIST announce on May 14 in the third round of its post-quantum cryptography standardization effort for digital signature algorithms. Article summary: NIST announced on May 14, 2026, that nine digital signature candidates advanced to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post-Quantum Cryptography standardization process after 18 months of evaluation.. Topic tags: general, government, education, general web. Reference image context from search candidates: Reference image 1: visual subject "HomeAttacks and VulnerabilitiesNIST advances nine post-quantum signature algorithms as race to secure data from quantum attacks intensifies. # NIST advances nine post-quantum signa" source context "NIST advances nine post-quantum signature algorithms as race to ..." Reference image 2: visual subject "HomeA
openai.com
Post‑quantum cryptography is entering a new phase. On May 14, 2026, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that nine digital signature algorithms will advance to the third round of its “Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography” standardization process after roughly 18 months of evaluation.
The move expands the pool of potential post‑quantum signature standards beyond the first set of PQC algorithms finalized in 2024 and signals continued preparation for a future where quantum computers could break today’s widely used public‑key cryptography.
The nine algorithms advancing to Round 3
NIST selected the following nine digital signature candidates to continue in the process:
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What is the short answer to "NIST Advances 9 Post‑Quantum Signature Algorithms to Round 3"?
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon...
What are the key points to validate first?
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon... The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lattice‑based, symmetric‑based, and isogeny‑based designs, reflecting NIST’s strategy of diversifying post‑quantum security...
What should I do next in practice?
Five earlier candidates—CROSS, LESS, Mirath, PERK, and RYDE—did not advance, though the provided sources do not specify NIST’s detailed reasons for eliminating them.
NIST Advances 9 Post‑Quantum Signature Algorithms to Round 3
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon... The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lat...
Published byEdited with GPT-5.5Images generated with GPT Image 2
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon...
The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lattice‑based, symmetric‑based, and isogeny‑based designs, reflecting NIST’s strategy of diversifying post‑quantum security...
Five earlier candidates—CROSS, LESS, Mirath, PERK, and RYDE—did not advance, though the provided sources do not specify NIST’s detailed reasons for eliminating them.
What did NIST announce on May 14 in the third round of its post-quantum cryptography standardization effort for digital signature algorithmsNIST continues evaluating new digital signature algorithms designed to remain secure against future quantum computers.
AI Prompt
Create a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: What did NIST announce on May 14 in the third round of its post-quantum cryptography standardization effort for digital signature algorithms. Article summary: NIST announced on May 14, 2026, that nine digital signature candidates advanced to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post-Quantum Cryptography standardization process after 18 months of evaluation.. Topic tags: general, government, education, general web. Reference image context from search candidates: Reference image 1: visual subject "HomeAttacks and VulnerabilitiesNIST advances nine post-quantum signature algorithms as race to secure data from quantum attacks intensifies. # NIST advances nine post-quantum signa" source context "NIST advances nine post-quantum signature algorithms as race to ..." Reference image 2: visual subject "HomeA
openai.com
Post‑quantum cryptography is entering a new phase. On May 14, 2026, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that nine digital signature algorithms will advance to the third round of its “Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography” standardization process after roughly 18 months of evaluation.
The move expands the pool of potential post‑quantum signature standards beyond the first set of PQC algorithms finalized in 2024 and signals continued preparation for a future where quantum computers could break today’s widely used public‑key cryptography.
The nine algorithms advancing to Round 3
NIST selected the following nine digital signature candidates to continue in the process:
Studio Global AI
Continue your research
This page includes a source-backed answer you can continue inside Studio Global.
What is the short answer to "NIST Advances 9 Post‑Quantum Signature Algorithms to Round 3"?
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon...
What are the key points to validate first?
On May 14, 2026, NIST advanced nine algorithms—FAEST, HAWK, MAYO, MQOM, QR‑UOV, SDitH, SNOVA, SQIsign, and UOV—to the third round of its Additional Digital Signatures for Post‑Quantum Cryptography project after 18 mon... The candidates span multiple cryptographic families including multivariate, MPC‑in‑the‑Head, lattice‑based, symmetric‑based, and isogeny‑based designs, reflecting NIST’s strategy of diversifying post‑quantum security...
What should I do next in practice?
Five earlier candidates—CROSS, LESS, Mirath, PERK, and RYDE—did not advance, though the provided sources do not specify NIST’s detailed reasons for eliminating them.
These algorithms represent a mix of cryptographic design strategies. Based on earlier NIST documentation describing the candidate pool, they come from several distinct cryptographic families:
This diversity is intentional: NIST typically evaluates candidates from different mathematical foundations so that a weakness discovered in one family does not undermine the entire post‑quantum ecosystem.
Candidates eliminated after Round 2
Before this announcement, 14 algorithms had advanced to the second round of the additional‑signatures process.
The following five candidates did not move forward to Round 3:
CROSS
LESS
Mirath
PERK
RYDE
Earlier documentation grouped these schemes into several approaches, including code‑based designs (CROSS, LESS) and MPC‑in‑the‑Head constructions (Mirath, PERK, RYDE).
The provided sources confirm that these algorithms were part of the previous round but do not include NIST’s detailed technical reasons for eliminating them, such as potential security concerns, performance issues, or implementation complexity. As a result, the precise evaluation rationale is not specified in the available evidence.
What happens in the third round
According to NIST’s announcement, the nine remaining algorithms will proceed to further analysis and evaluation in Round 3.
The supplied sources confirm that the third round follows approximately 18 months of evaluation but do not include detailed information about allowed specification updates or the full timeline extending through 2027.
Typically in NIST cryptographic competitions, later rounds involve deeper scrutiny of:
security assumptions and resistance to new attacks
implementation efficiency across hardware and software platforms
signature size, key size, and verification speed
suitability for real‑world deployment
However, the exact update rules and deadlines for this specific stage are not described in the sources provided.
Why this decision matters
The announcement fits into a broader global effort to secure digital systems against future quantum computers, which could break widely used cryptographic systems such as RSA and elliptic‑curve cryptography.
In August 2024, NIST published its first official post‑quantum cryptography standards:
FIPS 203: based on CRYSTALS‑Kyber (key encapsulation)
FIPS 204: based on CRYSTALS‑Dilithium (digital signatures)
FIPS 205: based on SPHINCS+ (hash‑based signatures)
NIST also selected FALCON for future publication as FIPS 206, which is still under development.
The Additional Digital Signatures project exists because the first batch of standards does not cover every use case. By continuing to evaluate more algorithms, NIST aims to:
increase cryptographic diversity
provide options optimized for different platforms and constraints
reduce systemic risk if vulnerabilities emerge in one family of algorithms
In short, the nine algorithms now in Round 3 represent the next generation of candidates that could eventually become official post‑quantum digital signature standards, helping governments, companies, and infrastructure providers prepare for the quantum era.
quics.umd.eduStatus Report on the Third Round of the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process | Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS)
These algorithms represent a mix of cryptographic design strategies. Based on earlier NIST documentation describing the candidate pool, they come from several distinct cryptographic families:
This diversity is intentional: NIST typically evaluates candidates from different mathematical foundations so that a weakness discovered in one family does not undermine the entire post‑quantum ecosystem.
Candidates eliminated after Round 2
Before this announcement, 14 algorithms had advanced to the second round of the additional‑signatures process.
The following five candidates did not move forward to Round 3:
CROSS
LESS
Mirath
PERK
RYDE
Earlier documentation grouped these schemes into several approaches, including code‑based designs (CROSS, LESS) and MPC‑in‑the‑Head constructions (Mirath, PERK, RYDE).
The provided sources confirm that these algorithms were part of the previous round but do not include NIST’s detailed technical reasons for eliminating them, such as potential security concerns, performance issues, or implementation complexity. As a result, the precise evaluation rationale is not specified in the available evidence.
What happens in the third round
According to NIST’s announcement, the nine remaining algorithms will proceed to further analysis and evaluation in Round 3.
The supplied sources confirm that the third round follows approximately 18 months of evaluation but do not include detailed information about allowed specification updates or the full timeline extending through 2027.
Typically in NIST cryptographic competitions, later rounds involve deeper scrutiny of:
security assumptions and resistance to new attacks
implementation efficiency across hardware and software platforms
signature size, key size, and verification speed
suitability for real‑world deployment
However, the exact update rules and deadlines for this specific stage are not described in the sources provided.
Why this decision matters
The announcement fits into a broader global effort to secure digital systems against future quantum computers, which could break widely used cryptographic systems such as RSA and elliptic‑curve cryptography.
In August 2024, NIST published its first official post‑quantum cryptography standards:
FIPS 203: based on CRYSTALS‑Kyber (key encapsulation)
FIPS 204: based on CRYSTALS‑Dilithium (digital signatures)
FIPS 205: based on SPHINCS+ (hash‑based signatures)
NIST also selected FALCON for future publication as FIPS 206, which is still under development.
The Additional Digital Signatures project exists because the first batch of standards does not cover every use case. By continuing to evaluate more algorithms, NIST aims to:
increase cryptographic diversity
provide options optimized for different platforms and constraints
reduce systemic risk if vulnerabilities emerge in one family of algorithms
In short, the nine algorithms now in Round 3 represent the next generation of candidates that could eventually become official post‑quantum digital signature standards, helping governments, companies, and infrastructure providers prepare for the quantum era.
quics.umd.eduStatus Report on the Third Round of the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process | Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS)
csrc.nist.govNIST Advances 9 Candidates to the 3rd Round of PQC | CSRC
iotworldtoday.comNIST Selects 14 Candidates for Next Post-Quantum Standards Stage
executivegov.comDigital Signature Algorithms Selected for NIST PQC Standardization