NIST Special Publication 800 -175A Guideline for Using Cryptographic Standards in the Federal Government: Directives, Mandates and Policies Elaine Barker William C. Barker This publication is available free of charge from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/ NIST.SP.800- 175A C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y NIST Special Publication 800 -175A Guideline for Using Cryptographic Standards in the Federal Government: Directives, Mandates and Policies Elaine Barker Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory William C. Barker Domestic Guest Researcher Information Technology Laboratory This publication is available free of charge from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/ NIST.SP.800- 175A August 2016 U.S. Department of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Willie May, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director Authority This publication has been develo ped by NIST in accordance with its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Mod ernization Act of 2014, 44 U.S.C. § 3551 et seq. , Public Law (P.L.) 113-283. NIST is responsib le for developing information security standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements for federal information systems, but such standard s and guid elines shall not apply to national security systems without the express approval of appropriate federal officials ex ercising policy authority over such systems. This guideline is consistent with the requirements of the Office of Management and Bud get (OMB) Circular A -130. Nothing in this publication sh ould be taken to contradict the standards and guidelines made mand atory and binding on federal agencies by the Secretary o f Commerce und er statutory autho rity. Nor should these guidelines be interpreted as altering or supersed ing the existing authorities of the Secretary of Commerce, Director of the OMB, or any other federal official. This publication may be used by nongovernmental organizatio ns on a v oluntary basis and is not subject to copyrigh t in the United States. Attribu tion would , howev er, be appreciated by NIST. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-1 75A Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 800-1 75A, 37 pages (August 2016) CODEN: NSPUE2 This publicati on is availabl e free of char ge from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/ NIST.SP.800 -175A Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. There may be references in this publication to other publications currently under development by NIST in accordance with its assigned statutory responsibilities. The information in this publication, including concepts and methodologies, may be used by federal agencies even before the completion of such companion publications. Thus, until each publication is completed, current requirements, guideline s, and procedures, where they exist, remain operative. For planning and transition purposes, federal agencies may wish to closely follow the development of these new publications by NIST. Organizations are encouraged to review all draft publications duri ng public comment periods and provide feedback to NIST. Many NIST cybersecurity publications , other than the ones noted above, are available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications . C omments on this publication may be submitted to: National Institute of Standards and Technology Attn: Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory 100 Bureau Drive (Mail Stop 8930) Gaithersburg, M