Toggle light / dark theme

The three final algorithms, which have now been released, are ML-KEM, previously known as kyber; ML-DSA (formerly Dilithium); and SLH-DSA (SPHINCS+). NIST says it will release a draft standard for FALCON later this year. “These finalized standards include instructions for incorporating them into products and encryption systems,” says NIST mathematician Dustin Moody, who heads the PQC standardization project. “We encourage system administrators to start integrating them into their systems immediately.”

Duncan Jones, head of cybersecurity at the firm Quantinuum welcomes the development. “[It] represents a crucial first step towards protecting all our data against the threat of a future quantum computer that could decrypt traditionally secure communications,” he says. “On all fronts – from technology to global policy – advancements are causing experts to predict a faster timeline to reaching fault-tolerant quantum computers. The standardization of NIST’s algorithms is a critical milestone in that timeline.”

American chipmaker Microchip Technology Incorporated has disclosed that a cyberattack impacted its systems over the weekend, disrupting operations across multiple manufacturing facilities.

Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, the company has roughly 123,000 customers across multiple industry sectors, including industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, and computing markets.

Due to an incident, some Microchip Technology manufacturing facilities operate at reduced capacity, affecting the company’s ability to meet orders. Microchip Technology also had to take steps to manage the situation, such as shutting down some systems and isolating the affected ones following the breach.

Ransomware victims have paid $459,800,000 to cybercriminals in the first half of 2024, setting the stage for a new record this year if ransom payments continue at this level.

Last year, ransomware payments reached a record $1.1 billion, which Chainalysis previously predicted from stats gathered in the first half of the year when ransomware activity grossed $449,100,000.

We now stand at approximately 2% higher than 2023’s record-breaking trajectory from the same period despite significant law enforcement operations that disrupted large ransomware-as-a-service operations, such as LockBit.