NIST's Views on Standardization of Advanced Cryptography

Abstract. NIST has, in the past, standardized only basic cryptographic functions: for encrypting, for hashing, for digital signatures, and for establishing shared secret keys. Going beyond these basic primitives would have consequences for NIST, for the US, and beyond. We must carefully consider possible ramifications if we are to start standards work on advanced cryptography such as Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Multi-Party Computation, and Threshold Cryptography, among other possibilities. I will describe my thoughts about this in relation to Zero-Knowledge Proofs. For over two decades NIST has chosen to write standards only after engaging in a public process that seeks community consensus. I will argue that such a process, insofar as it can create a body of trusted common reference materials, can be useful even when a field is not sufficiently mature for standardization.