NIST announced at the beginning of September 2025 that it was seeking comments for deterministic random number generator algorithms to facilitate developing a new revision of SP800-90A, and declared that a new XOF-based DRBG is planned to be added to the upcoming revision.
The algorithm for the XOF-based DRBG is ready now, and atsec proudly contributed both specification and development expertise to the project. We believe it’s critical to be at the forefront of new innovations and developments to both understand upcoming technologies and to use our knowledge for everyone’s benefit, and the XDRBG algorithm was a perfect opportunity for both. The algorithm itself is strong, yet surprisingly lightweight, and atsec is excited for this contemporary algorithm with an innovative design to now be available.
If you’re curious about the details, the XDRBG algorithm is based on a peer-reviewed paper published at the IACR and presented at the ToSC. Given the thought and attention put into the algorithm, it’s been our pleasure and pride at atsec to work on getting it standardized as a secure new cryptographic algorithm by NIST.
