Post-Quantum Cryptographic

csrc.nist.gov • July 29, 2026

FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205 , which specify algorithms derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium, CRYSTALS-KYBER , and SPHINCS + , were published August 13, 2024. FALCON was also selected and will be published in FIPS 206 (in development) . See NIST IR 8413, Status Report of the Third Round of the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process .

HQC was selected for standardization on March 11, 2025. See NIST IR 8545, Status Report on the Fourth Round of the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Process .

NIST extends its appreciation to all submitters and those providing public during the post-quantum algorithm evaluation process.

The full story

This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

AI Discovers Cryptographic Weaknesses in HAWK and AES Researchers at Anthropic utilized Claude Mythos Preview to uncover significant vulnerabilities in cryptographic algorithms, specifically targeting the HAWK digital signature scheme and a reduced-round version of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The attack on HAWK, a candidate for post-quantum cryptography, effectively halves its key strength, necessitating larger key sizes to maintain security. The AES vulnerability, while theoretical, allows for a much faster attack on a simplified version of the cipher, but does not affect the full 10-round AES used in practice. Both findings do not currently compromise any deployed systems, but they highlight the potential for AI to discover flaws previously overlooked by human experts. The research was disclosed to relevant parties, including NIST, prior to public announcement. The implications of these findings could affect billions of users if similar flaws are found in widely used cryptographic systems. 16 sources 40

Extracted Entities

Platforms (4)

CRYSTALS-Dilithium CRYSTALS-Kyber Falcon HQC