Period for public comments on XTS (as standardized by IEEE std 1619-2007) ends Sept 3, 2008

[Matt Ball]

Hi Folks,

Please remember that the 90-day public comment period for XTS ends
Sept 3, which is coming up very quickly.  If you have any comments you
would like to submit to NIST concerning XTS-AES (as specified in IEEE
Std 1619-2007), please send an e-mail to EncryptionModes at nist.gov.

The excerpt of IEEE 1619-2007 that specifies XTS-AES will be removed
after the public review period ends.  If you would like to get a free
copy of the XTS specification, this will be your last chance!  See
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1619tmp/1619-2007-NIST-Submission.pdf

[Original solicitation from NIST:]

Request for Public Comment on XTS (See
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/documents/Request-for-Public-Comment-on_XTS.pdf)

The P1619 Task Group of the Security in Storage Working Group (SISWG)
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
has submitted the XTS-AES algorithm (XTS, for short) to NIST as an
encryption mode of operation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
block cipher. Although XTS does not provide authentication in order to
avoid expansion of the data, it is designed to provide some protection
against malicious manipulation of the encrypted data. Subject to the
90-day period of public comment that is described below, NIST proposes
to approve XTS for government use under the auspices of FIPS Pub.
140-2.

XTS is specified in IEEE Std 1619-2007. IEEE has agreed to make a
relevant extract from this standard available for free during the
period of public comment. NIST proposes to approve the specification
by reference to IEEE Std 1619-2007, while reserving the right to
specify additional requirements/restrictions on XTS for government
use. After the period of public comment, the standard would be
available for purchase from IEEE for $85 to IEEE members and
affiliates, and $105 to non-members. The chair of the SISWG informed
NIST that he is unaware of any patent claims on XTS, but that NeoScale
Systems, subsequently acquired by nCipher, submitted a Letter of
Assurance of Essential Patents to the IEEE, without elaborating on
what aspect of IEEE 1619 was patented.

The period of public comment for this proposal is from June 5, 2008 to
September 3, 2008. The extract of IEEE Std 1619-2007 is available for
free during this period at
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1619tmp/1619-2007-NIST-Submission.pdf.

Comments may be submitted to EncryptionModes at nist.gov. NIST
particularly invites comments on the following topics:
* The XTS algorithm itself;
* The depth of support in the storage industry for which it was designed;
* The appeal of XTS for wider applications;
* The proposal for the approved specification to be available only by
purchase from IEEE;
* Concerns of intellectual property rights.

Thanks!
-Matt

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