Two NSA Algorithms Rejected by the ISO
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The ISO has rejected two symmetric encryption algorithms: SIMON and SPECK. These algorithms were both designed by the NSA and made public in 2013. They are optimized for small and low-cost processors like IoT devices.
The risk of using NSA-designed ciphers, of course, is that they include NSA-designed backdoors. Personally, I doubt that they’re backdoored. And I always like seeing NSA-designed cryptography (particularly its key schedules). It’s like examining alien technology.
EDITED TO ADD (5/14): Why the algorithms were rejected.
Tags: algorithms, backdoors, cryptanalysis, Edward Snowden, encryption, Internet of Things, NSA
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