Decision to Revise NIST SP 800-38A

NIST to Revise SP 800-38A, Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods and Techniques

In May 2021, NIST’s Crypto Publication Review Board initiated a review process for the following two publications, and received public comments:

  • NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-38A, Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods and Techniques (December 2001)
  • NIST SP 800-38A Addendum, Three Variants of Ciphertext Stealing for CBC Mode (October 2010)

In March 2022, the board proposed revising SP 800-38A and converting the SP 800-38A Addendum by merging it into the revised SP 800-38A, and received additional comments on that proposed decision.

NIST has decided to revise SP 800-38A and to convert the SP 800-38A Addendum. See the full announcement for more details, links to comments received, and ways to monitor future developments such as the Third NIST Workshop on Block Cipher Modes of Operation 2023, scheduled for October 3-4, 2023.

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