Cryptographic Algorithms and Key Sizes for Personal Identity Verification

GuidanceNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)General Information

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 mandated the creation of new standards for interoperable identity credentials for physical and logical access to Federal government locations and systems. Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201), Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors, was developed to establish standards for identity credentials [FIPS201-1]. This document, Special Publication 800-78-1, specifies the cryptographic algorithms and key sizes for PIV systems and is a companion document to FIPS 201.

1.1 Authority

This document has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002, Public Law 107-347.

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