On October 24, 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the 14 candidate algorithms advancing to the second round of its additional digital signature standardization process. The candidates were selected from 40 first-round submissions that NIST had accepted following its September 2022 call for proposals.
According to NIST’s announcement, the evaluation criteria, algorithm designs, and reasoning behind the selections were detailed in NIST Internal Report (IR) 8528. The second phase of evaluation was estimated to last 12 to 18 months, with submission teams permitted to provide updated specifications.
NIST initiated this separate track to diversify its post-quantum signature portfolio beyond structured lattices, as the previously standardized ML-DSA and forthcoming FN-DSA both rely on lattice-based assumptions. The selected second-round candidates included code-based, multivariate, isogeny-based, and MPC-in-the-head signature schemes.